Maya Angelou: A night to remember

After seeing her in winter 2006
Dr. Maya Angelou: A Night to RememberSitting 11 rows from the front in the Arlington Theater I could hardly believe that the night had finally arrived when I would hear one of God’s Angels speak. I sat in my seat, row k seat 36, eagerly awaiting her arrival on stage as the theater filled to its capacity of people from all over. There were young, old, male, female, tall, short, black, white and everyone in between. It felt as if the whole world had gathered in this one place to hear this woman speak.The host of the event returned onto the stage after a Gospel choir sang so beautifully, setting the tone for what was about to come. He then finally said the words that we had all been waiting for, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Dr. Maya Angelou.” The audience immediately started to applaud and stood up as Dr. Angelou made her way into the stage. She entered the stage in a gorgeous white dress topped with elegant pearls around her neck, she truly looked like an angel. She made her way to center stage with the help of a cane to where a podium stood surrounded by beautiful flowers. After a moment of taking us all in she had to prompt the anxious audience to take their seats so she could begin. As soon as her voice sounded through the microphone, the audience fell still. The atmosphere was full of respect and admiration and she had barely spoken a word. Every single pair of eyes were on her, all gazing, as though they were witnessing a miracle.There is no way that I can possibly put into words all the amazing poems and stories she shared with us. Even if I were to write a 10 page paper, I simply wouldn’t know where to begin. One thing that she repeated many times through out was, “Just when we all thought that the sun would never shine again God put a rainbow in the clouds, giving all who saw it hope.” We have all had times of sorrow, pain, and grief but then we saw something or someone, our rainbow, and got through it. So without those rainbows we wouldn’t be where we are today. In between the rainbows there are lights that light up our path, so we can see where we are going. It may be song, a person, an experience that’s not quite as big as a rainbow, but it does give us some light to continue on our way.Dr. Angelou shared many of her life stories with us. Many of them she told with song and attitude that had us laughing out loud, then others she told with a certain kind of seriousness that had us all listening intently, with complete silence throughout the theater. With each story came a poem, and with each poem came a lesson. Everything that she said applied to some area of my life, which I am sure it did every single soul around me. I was awestruck at how true everything she said is. One quote she shared that really got me thinking was, “I am a human being, so anything human is not alien to me.” She said she first heard the quote when she was 11 or 12 and has kept it with her ever since, and I have to say that I will most likely do the same. It’s a way of saying that we that we are all equal and so I will accept everything that you are.Dr. Angelou shared so many inspirational words that I wish I could put them all down on paper to share with you. She spoke for almost two hours without a break and barely remember blinking once. She caught my attention from the minute she stepped foot on the stage and never once lost it. Listening to Dr. Angelou was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and will stay with me forever. I will continue to hear her words of wisdom as I replay the evening over and over in my mind. Because of her I will look out of the lights that will show me the way and the rainbows that will give me hope. In turn I will reach out to others in hope that I can be a light or rainbow for them. Dr. Angelou said that you should smile at everyone you meet, because you don’t know them and you don’t know what’s going on in their lives. So a simple smile that you share with them could be the rainbow that they are looking out for. She is an amazing person who has touched so many lives including mine. She had a tough childhood and grew to be one of the worlds biggest inspirations. She is proof that you can get out there, be who you want to be and do what you want to do regardless of your background. There is no doubt that we can all learn from Dr. Maya Angelou