Maya Angelou once said, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes

it has
gone through to achieve that beauty.” Ms. Angelou is commonly known for her books, poems, and
movies. However, most people don’t know what her childhood was like. Ms. Angelou changed from her
childhood to her adulthood like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Ms. Angelou went
through many hardships during her childhood, but she became very successful later in life.

According to biography.com Ms. Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents
split up when she was very young, she and her brother Bailey, were sent to live with their grandmother
in Stamps, Arkansas. When she was visiting her mother when she was seven, she was raped by her
mother’s boyfriend. Because she believed that her words kill him, she spent years not talking afraid that
her words would kill someone else. Ms. Angelou has had many hardships and challenges throughout her
childhood. Her parents split when she was very young leaving her in a racially divided stamps Arkansas.
After she was rapped, she stopped speaking entirely because she thought her words had killed her
mother’s boyfriend. She only started talking again after Ms. Flowers introduced her to poetry and
literature.

In 1944 Angelou gave birth to a son named guy. After giving birth, she worked several jobs to
support herself and her child. In 1952 she married a Greek sailor named Anastasios
Angelopoulos they later divorced In the mid-1950s, Angelou's career as a performer began to
take off. She landed a role in a touring production of Porgy and Bess she landed many more
jobs in acting after this. Angelou published several collections of poetry, but her most famous
was 1971’s collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die, which was nominated for
the Pulitzer Prize. She even made and read a poem at bill Clintons presidential inauguration.
When in 1944 she gave birth to her son she worked many jobs to support her son even
becoming the first African American female cable car driver in San Francisco for a brief period.
She married a Greek sailor, but the marriage didn’t last. Soon after her career as a performer
took off and landed jobs as an actress. At this time, she also started writing books and poetry
going as far as speaking at bill Clintons presidential inauguration.

Maya angelus’s adult life is significantly different from her childhood. For example as a child she
wasn’t famous or well known. However, when she started to write and act in movies and plays
she started to drift away from her childhood life into a new one. In 1954-55 Maya Angelo tours
Europe as part of an opera production, this is something she probably never even thought she
would do.

Maya Angelou’s life has changed tremendously from growing up in a small town to becoming
an author and becoming very successful. She took many careers and paths to get to where she
was but through it all she persevered with her amazing poetry and acting career. In conclusion
Maya Angelou felt powerless as a child but had a large impact on the world around her.