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Facing Adversity In Maya Angelou's Poem Still I Rise

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Still I Rise “Still I Rise” written by Maya Angelou is a poem that interprets a very strong message to the readers, that being how she faces adversity as the main theme. Nothing can keep this woman from getting up after facing adversity and standing beautiful and strong. Even though Maya Angelou feels very discriminated against because of her race she continues to have a positive mind, body and soul. Facing adversity is an everyday situation for a human, discrimination against races happens a lot more than most people think. Facing adversity causes some people to break; others to break records. “If the road is easy, you're likely going the wrong way.” ― Terry Goodkind. This strong literal quote from Terry Goodkind portrays the same impression …show more content…

You can be cut several times from the best and the worst teams but it is about how you react to these situations that reveals your true character. Growing up, I was never the best hockey player but I always had the attitude to be the hardest worker. I was one of the shorter kids playing hockey so it never came easy, especially as a goaltender. My second year bantam I had the attitude and devotion to play on the AA rep team. Wednesday, the first day of tryouts for the bantam AAA team, I played strong but was cut the first day. I was then sent down to the AA tryouts, I was no doubt one of the best goaltenders at the camp and I even boasted with my strong performance, I was cut and sent down to the tier 1 travelling team. Most people would think the torture would stop there and I would find myself a spot on tier 1, but no I was cut all the way back to tier 3. This was the last travelling team before house league, my confidence was so far down in the dumps. I even considered quitting the sport I love and am so passionate about. Two practices into the season with the tier 3 team I received a call from the bantam AA club. I was asked to go practice with them, I was so excited. I knew I would go out and make the most of this chance. I went out to the practice and stopped near every shot, I had a meeting with the coach after practiced which changed my life forever. The coach

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Maya Angelou uses the extended metaphor to compare life to a road, because like a road, life is a path that's taken. However, also like a road, it's possible to change direction, to “step off that road, and cut… a new path. ”(Angelou 1.)Annie Johnson was forced to change her direction when she was left with her two sons and lack of money, due to her husband leaving for Oklahoma to pursue religion. The purpose of the metaphor is to show the reader that life isn’t one straight line, and “if the future road looms ominous or unpromising, and the roads back uninviting” (Angelou 2) then there’s always a possibility to change that path or road to something more desirable.

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Maya Angelou once said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” This quote of hers invokes strength and courage through her tone and use of stylistic devices. Maya Angelou beliefs on the human spirit and freedom are of strength and courage. Her beliefs are interpreted by her style from four of her works of literature: an excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, “New Directions,” “Caged Bird,” and “Woman Work.”

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Maya Angelou, a famous poet and activist, was able to face and conquer a part of her life that was greatly affected. Her mother had left Maya and her brother when they were young with their grandmother. As years went forward she reconnected with her mother and dealt with a whirlwind of emotions. The strength she withheld to forgive and to love her mother was priceless. She never gave up on the warmth or the liberation to life because she knew this person was someone she needed in order to truly prosper and grow.

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At the end of the final tryout, the coach called me over and told me the news I dreaded to hear: I hadn’t made the team. I wasn’t shocked, but I was infuriated with myself for letting others get to me. Failing to make the team wasn’t necessarily devastating, for being on the team wouldn’t have brought me the happiness nor relief I wanted. Failing to make the team was however humiliating, for I let myself believe I wasn’t of greatness due to purely unrelated distinctions. “Perhaps my skills are simply not up to par, maybe the coach noticed my weak performance, what if he just didn’t like me?” is all I thought the few days after his decision.

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When I look back on my younger years in my childhood, many of the memories have something to do with hockey. Looking back I remember the time spent at the rink watching my dad play on Monday nights, all of my brother’s games and all of the Red Wings’ games on TV. With all of this, the love of hockey was ingrained into my psyche and my heart, so from a young age I have always wanted to play hockey. Now being 17 years old and a junior in high school, I have had the opportunity to play the great game of hockey for many years now and have learned a few things about myself as a player. I have learned that I have never been a great scorer like my brother always was growing up.

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Many athletes try to blame others for their failures. They may try to blame the coaches, another player that took their spot, or even irrepressible factors like weather. For me, I blamed the coaches after I was cut from the team, but ultimately, nothing I said was to going to change the fact that it was my fault. I analyzed my performance and identified my faults, so I spent the next several months, before next year’s tryouts, focusing on those issues. I came back the next year, however, and I got cut once again, but I still learned a valuable lesson: I will not accept defeat, I will not take anything for granted, and I will appreciate the times when I do achieve something

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