The world feels a little emptier now, more hollow, less sincere, as we have lost a hero, a leader, a mother and a friend. Through her words, she will live on, through her wisdom, we will grow, and in her absence we must rise up and fill the void she left us with the courage and sagacity she always knew we had within us.
As a writer, this is a call to action. As a woman, this is an awakening. As a human being, this is a chance to follow in the footsteps of the great human being we have lost.
In her passing, as a flood of her quotes fill Facebook and Twitter feeds around the world, one cannot help but to (or maybe it's just me) pause and take inventory of our lives. Not everyone will be remembered in the same way or in the same capacity that she is, but everyone has the ability to, as she once said, "Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud". Not everyone will publish great American novels, receive 50 honorary degrees and touch the hearts of millions with poems but everyone can be their own version of phenomenal.
So I ask, W.W.A.D? What would Angelou do?
And I answer, be courageous.
"Courage is the most important of all the virtues
because without courage,
you can't practice any other virtue consistently."
- Maya Angelou
Chocolate Compass is about more than just travel for the sake of travel. It's about opening eyes around the world, exposing ourselves to and exploring other cultures and taking steps towards understand and creating a better tomorrow.
An' ain't we bad?
An' ain't we Black?
An' ain't we fine?
I want to write and I want to travel. Not only that, I want to encourage others to do the same. I don't need to make millions, I don't need a fancy house or shiny jewelry, I just want to be happy and to find ways to bring happiness to other. To me, that's success. To me, that's living.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away."
I want to use what I love to a make positive changes in the world. I won't change the world as a whole, but I can put a dent in it. I can be a light and a rainbow to generations of youth who waste away, anonymously and quietly in the shadows of poverty and misfortune; the chocolate youth who haven't been afforded the same opportunities as others, whose interests aren't catered to and whose lives aren't always depicted in a positive light. I want to spend my life encouraging and exposing youth to people and places and things and ideas that may change their lives for the better.Maybe that's too much to ask. Maybe it's not feasible in this economy. But as long as the necessity exists, so exists my desire to beat the odds and make that dream a reality.
Chocolate Compass WILL rise.
Chocolate Compass WILL not be defeated.
Chocolate Compass WILL be phenomenal.
"Nothing will work unless you do."
"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within."
