And sometimes, they don’t say a word, just open their arms, tip their head slightly, and wrap themselves up. Some do the side hug, or barely get their arms around me. There are some kids who come in for a hug every single day. I started this routine the first day of school…and I don’t think I’ve missed a day of smiling at every kid as they pass the threshold high fives are most popular, followed by handshakes…and then hugs.
I want to be the first contact my kids have before they enter our learning space. No one comes in my classroom without a handshake, high five or hug. I had one of those days recently…when the kids started wiggling my classroom doorknob before I was ready to perform, one of those days when I had to take a deep breath, push open the door and smile. I often think about how so many of our children come to school feeling the very same way…and spend day after day wondering if they will ever succeed in life. It feels darn near impossible to believe that the world is truly designed for us to succeed. And some days, that’s really, really hard. We’re on display, performers expected to push down our outside lives and ‘turn on’ in the presence of our students. Teaching is one of those professions where it’s impossible to hide. time and treasure the moments I was in her presence, in an audience completely engulfed with her wisdom. Have you ever heard Maya Angelou talk about being a ‘rainbow in someone’s cloud’? I just sink under the covers with a lusciously written novel and shut off the world.Īnd then the next day, I tell myself to show up. I battle the ‘fatigue demon’ all the time, feeling raw and frustrated and dubious and wonder if my limitations are going to get in my way. I feel it too, that curse of the monkey mind. We don’t believe in our own ability to reach our dreams. That we don’t have the energy, time, resources….fill in the rest of that sentence. That the boundaries between what that person does and what we can do are tall and unbreakable and topped with barbed wire. There’s a part of all of us that believes that our success isn’t limitless. We say the right things, read the right books and make sure we have a positive mindset.īut we know when that shadow creeps in, that little voice that tells us it’s never going to happen. We talk a good talk about being successful. What do you think would be different in your life? Would you be more adventurous? Would you check your vulnerability at the door, step out of your comfort zone and SEIZE THE DAY? “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.What might happen if you knew that every day you were guaranteed to succeed?
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” Here are some of Maya Angelou’s best quotes on the power of connection, understanding yourself and motivation. Who hasn’t read the quote, “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time,” to themselves over and over when gearing up to put themselves out there after being hurt?Īnother one of Angelou’s most famous lines comes from “ Still I Rise,” her 1978 poem: “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise.” It is nearly impossible to read that without feeling a rush of empowerment from deep inside your soul.Īngelou was brilliant at many things, but her ability to harness the power of words to inspire people was a truly remarkable feat. The popularity of Maya Angelou’s quotes is one of the many ways she lives on in the hearts of people. (She died in 2014, at 86.) Through her poetry (“Phenomenal Woman,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), essays (“Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now,” “Even the Stars Look Lonesome”), plays (“The Best of These, “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl”), films (“Sister, Sister” “Down in the Delta”), and civil rights activis m, Angelou’s tremendous impact is still felt widely today. Maya Angelou inspired countless people during her lifetime.