My Top 10 Favorite Maya Angelou Quotes For Women
This week, we lost a woman who will go down in history as one of the most influential people of all time. Best known for her writing, poetry, and activism, Maya Angelou was an exceptional human being.
I’ve always been particularly in awe of her daily routine when I first learned of it awhile back. She would wake up at 5:30 every morning, have her coffee, and then drive down to a rundown motel that she rents. She would write there everyday from 7am to 2pm. She says she can’t work in a pretty place like her own home. The rough environment pushes her creativity.
It makes me smile to wonder what masterpieces she may have created in that gritty motel room. As a tribute to this extraordinary woman, I would like to share with you My Top 10 Favorite Maya Angelou Quotes For Women (in no particular order). Enjoy.
- We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.
- There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
- Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.
- At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself.
- My life has been long and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trembling, but daring still.
- We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!
- A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and herself only.
- Stepping onto a brand new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.
- I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.
- My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
Which quote rings most true for you?
Those are my 10 favorites, but I’d love to hear your favorites too. Is it one of these or another one? Share with me by replying back your favorite quotes, sayings, or poems of hers.
Speaking of her poems, I want to leave you with one of her famous poems to remind you that YOU are a Phenomenal Woman. Yes, you are!
Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Image credit: http://mayaangelou.com/media/
