Maya Angelou is a poet and award winning author know for her acclaimed memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and plethora of other works of art. In a contemporary society, middle school and high school graduates tend to only remember walking down the aisle, the class song, receiving the diploma and the handing of roses to whomever he/she want to give it to on their graduation. Angelou on the contrary, captures every moment of the graduation from the morning of to the end of the commencement.
Graduation was one of the most appreciated events of the neighborhood. Maya Angelou remembered feeling excited and eager along with her classmates, soon to be high school graduates and adults as well. On this day she recalls seeing her classmates differently
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How would feel if someone told you you cannot become the US President? Yet qualify to become the cook or janitor? Therefore her skepticism towards Reed’s speech, which emphasizes becoming a leader and builder not a tool or joke, was justified. When I was younger my aspiration was to become a lawyer. My aunt couldn’t get this around her head so she told me to aim for something lower, to aim for something that require minimal education and to aim for something that I’m actually able to get. “The man’s dead words fell like bricks around the auditorium and too many settled in my belly. Constrained by hard-learned manners I couldn’t look behind me, but to my left and right the proud graduation class of 1940 had dropped their heads.” It is people like them that lower the self-esteem of people and crush their future dreams. My aunt remind me of Donleavy because both are setting boundaries on people and are not considering the potential we may have to become something of