Maya Angelou is a rainbow...

Well, she is! If you had heard her speak, like I did, on Friday at U of M, then you would understand.

I was so excited when I heard that she was coming to U of M. I went and got a ticket (free!) right away. And even though I haven't felt good all week, I still went.

She walked on stage, with the help of a cane and a gentleman, and I almost cried. She has such presence. Vitality, power, and beauty. And she was so funny!

She talked about how art and science need each other. She talked about poetry and how she came to love it. She talked about her life and struggles. She talked about a quote and now I can't remember who said it, but basically, it was "I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me." And she explained how everything humans have done, have created, have learned is for every other human. She talked about how she reads poems and knows the author wrote them for her. She talked about how we're all human beings and we should value each other as such despite our differences. She talked about loving ourselves for who we are because we all have positive effects on people. She talked about always saying yes to good things. She told beautiful stories and read beautiful poems. She laughed and sang. It was simply...amazing. If you ever have the chance to see her in person, please do. You won't regret it.

At the end, she said that each of us is a rainbow in the clouds for many people and that we should remember that. She told a story of reading a poem at the UN's 50th anniversary and how when she was 16, they were forming the UN in San Fransisco and she would stare at all the people going in, thinking that some day she might able to do what the translators did. And 50 years later, she did go into that building, invited by the UN and read a poem they asked her to write and she said she took every person/rainbow who had every supported, encouraged, and cared for her into that building with her. It made me think about my rainbows... And that is why she is rainbow for me.