These ages are approximate, but you get the picture.
Thankfully, WSOCTV started the project and I supplemented with the timelines at softschools.com and a few other websites, and I mostly had to do the math to figure out her age.
23 years old Married Greek Electrician Tosh Angelos despite disapproval of interracial relationships, Studied dance.
26 years old Divorced first husband, danced and sang professionally, including touring Europe with "Porgy and Bess"
Film "Georgia, Georgia", nominated for Pulitzer Prize.
So why was completing this timeline important to me? Because I (many of us) feel inadequate in comparison to our heroes. We feel like we could never, ever, accomplish what they did in life. But looking at Maya's timeline, I can see that the things I admire most about her began just a few years younger than I am now. Granted, her rich life experiences up until that pointed, tragic and impressive, are the tools and experiences on which she built her life, but just because my path was a bit less "exciting", I can still see similarities. I still experienced hardships I can learn from. I can still use my successes as a springboard to the future.
So I write this for myself and others who are struggling to move forward after the empty nest. Maya lived on her own, without her son from the age 36... it was after that that she did her best work. My goal is not to try to live up to her legacy, but to be the best me I could be, and as I look at her life, I can see that it is OK to be just getting started... (although, I am pretty dang proud of the homeschooling journey I have already accomplished).
0 comments:
Post a Comment