Someone to mark the road

I was browsing the nonfiction section in the library when my daughter came up to me and said "watcha lookin for, mama?" I was afraid the truth would sound ridiculous. I was looking for a book that would teach me to be fearless. I could blame a lot of things, my personal temperament, my religion, my gender, and Southern culture. A learned a lot of things about what it meant to be a girl. And none of those things including being fearless. I was taught to be polite, always put a smile on my face and put everyone else's needs before my own. In other words, the opposite of fearlessness. So I learned to look for books to teach me what it meant to be true to myself.
So I was disappointed this week to learn that Maya Angelou had passed. I don't remember when I first read "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings." But I remember how much I admired the strength of Maya Angelou, how she struggled to pursue her dreams and be true to herself in spite of incredible odds. She was so honest and so unashamed of what she had been through. I wanted that for myself even long before I could actually put that desire into words. She lived close enough to me that I always hoped that I would get to meet her someday. I wanted to be able to shake her hand and thank her for sharing her strength and her struggle with the world. I'll never get that chance. But I will remember that someone else has traveled this road before me. And I will take courage from that.