Maya Angelou went through some really harsh times to help shape her into the woman she had later become. As Maya lived with her Grandmother she witnessed many accounts of racism. Maya was a very young girl when she had become raped by her mother's boyfriend which changed her as a person and shaped her into who she is today. Maya had also become homeless for a while because she ran away from her father's friends house this made her see the real world and change her outlook in life. At a very young age Maya had become pregnant, which changed her a lot. Maya went through many life lessons as a child and young adult, all helping her throughout her life to shape her into who she is today, therefore Maya witnessed her Grandmother being treated poorly on a everyday basis because of the color of her skin, also, she was a victim of a rape as a child, next, she was homeless for awhile, finally, she had gotten pregnant as a teenager.
First, Maya's grandmother was a big part of Maya's life in the autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya had moved in with her grandmother at a very young age in her life, Maya's parents were getting a divorce
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Maya had thought she was a lesbian for most of her life, however she had done nothing sexually until then, Maya wanted to see if she was or not. Therefore Maya had seduced a young good looking man, as she described him, and had later found out she was pregnant. As a result of her decision, Maya also decided to hide it from her parents for eight months. Maya had explained in a quote that she had made decisions for herself so she had to deal with the consequences by herself, “I was alone suffocating in the nightmare” (Angelou 284). Since Maya went through this she realized she has to live with all her decisions she makes so she has to think about the consequences before she does