Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an American poet, author, and civil rights activist.

If I’m America’s poet, or one of them, then I want to be in people’s hands. All people’s hands. People who would never buy a book.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

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 only herself.

If you are going down a road and don’t like what’s in front of you, and look behind you and don’t like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path!

My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.

Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

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!

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.

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.