Today many people are mourning the loss of the legendary writer Maya Angelou. At Save the Date® the office is full of women who each appreciate and understand the work that has been done by feminist before us just like Maya Angelou. As independent working women we all admire Angelou and the work she has done to give us the rights that we have today. She has contributed so much that we all can succeed in the field of work that we have chosen! As a tribute to her we wanted to just recap her life in our blog for those who don’t know the history…
Throughout Angelou’s life she had to overcome many obstacles and accomplishments whether it was from her childhood, to helping Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. organize acts during the Civil Right Movement, to being the first female streetcar conductor in San Francisco Angelou has really achieved so much. As an event planner you are constantly jumping over the hurdles thrown at you every day. You must remember with every problem there is always a solution. Maya Angelou managed this many times in her life, for instance when she had become pregnant at just 16 years old. Maya was a strong independent young woman, she made the decision all by herself that she was going to keep this baby with no help from the father.
As a single mother she struggled with crime and poverty, getting involved in occupations like prostitution and as a restaurant cook. Many times she had to return home to her mother’s house looking for help but she wouldn’t ever stay long. It was difficult to find work when you have no higher education and no job training. To struggle and fight your hardest to build a life for yourself to then succeed is a skill not too many people have figured out but Maya Angelou did. She was a dancer in New York City, and later went off to write, produce and narrator Blacks, Blues, Black! with no experience.
Maya Angelou wrote seven auto biographies throughout her life span and is considered to be a powerful feminist. When Maya Angelou needed to write she would play solitaire to help bring back memories of her life. Everyone has a way to keep calm whether you’re an actor and you need to imagine the audience naked or an event planner and you need to stop for a minute and think about what your next move should be, there is always a way to accomplish your goals. Maya Angelou once said, “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” Amen to that.
