Like An Eagle In The Sky - Essay Example

Like an Eagle in the Sky” In the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, the poet celebrates her independence of spirit in the face of a harsh, judgmental world determined to keep her in a predetermined place. Instead of behaving as she’s supposed to - as society has decided she should - she behaves as she wishes and maintains pride in herself. There have been many times in my life that I have felt this same pride of self in the face of adversity, but never have I felt it more than my experience in attending military academy. While attending the academy, the whole program seemed designed to break me, but I found strength inside myself to keep going and ended up with a feeling of power like the power Angelou talks about in this poem. Like Angelou, I was brought to the bottom of society and expected to be happy with my place there, but I proved stronger than that and fostered my own identity to emerge with a very strong sense of who I was and pride in my own accomplishments. As I stood at the portals of the Academy full of hope, I also had deep feelings of trepidation. Coming from a humble background, “out of the huts of history’s shame” (29), I had already overcome several obstacles to make it this far. Failure was a possibility too terrible to contemplate. As I stepped inside and reported to the sergeant on duty, I wondered what the future held in store. Stripped down to my shorts, I stood in line with the other candidates as my head was shaved and all vestiges of my identity were swept away with my fallen hair. Like Angelou, I felt as if they were working to “trod me in the very dirt” (3). As the hours and days wore on, newer and newer indignities were heaped on me. As part of the training program, I was put through a gruelling schedule, meant to toughen me up physically and mentally. Mostly though, the schedule made no sense and seemed designed to break my will more than anything else. Strenuous physical exercises that stretched the limits of physical endurance, coupled with sleep deprivation, little or no food served at odd timings and a continuous tirade of abuses were my lot. During these times, I often felt as Angelou felt when she talks about the people tormenting her. “Did you want to see me broken? / Bowed head and lowered eyes? / Shoulders falling down like teardrops. / Weakened by my soulful cries” (13-16). Not a single word of praise ever escaped the pursed, unsmiling lips of my instructors as they harangued me day after day, narrowed eyes pouncing on the tiniest mistake I made. I found myself responding much like Angelou, “You may shoot me with your words, / You may cut me with your eyes, / you may kill me with your hatefulness, / But still, like air, Ill rise.” (21-24). The resilience of youth and my innate belief in myself thanks to my previous experiences blossomed in this adversity, making me feel “like I’ve got gold mines / diggin’ in my own backyard” (19-20) and leaving me stronger after each ordeal. These indignities I suffered only served to strengthen my resolve. “Just like moons and like suns, / With the certainty of tides, / Just like hopes springing high, / Still Ill rise.” (9-12). I was determined to prove them all wrong no matter what it took, to “rise” just as Angelou mentions in her poem. They wanted me to fail, to “write me down in history / with … bitter, twisted lies” (1-2), but I knew I was meant to succeed. I had to justify the faith of not only my parents, but of the many others who had backed my ambitions. Like Angelou “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, / I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (39-40), I was the dream and the hope of my family bringing everything they had to give in the form of character development, inner strength, dignity, pride and ability. I had to make it through, I had to “rise.” Finally, just when I had lost track of time, stumbling zombie-like from day to day and event to event, graduation day dawned. In my best ceremonial dress, “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear” (35), I walked forward to receive my lieutenants’ bars, the long sought-after goal. With me rode the hopes and aspirations of an entire community, “A black ocean, leaping and wide” (33), a boy from the back of beyond who had made it good and triumphed over all odds. As I saluted and turned to face the spectators, I saw before me my tormentors, but although I tried very hard to despise them; to remember the terrible retributions I had planned for them, I was overwhelmed by the moment, transported into “… a daybreak that’s wonderously clear” (37), free of rancour or pettiness. Like the eagle in the US flag, I felt myself soaring high on a thermal of emotions as it finally sank in that I had achieved my boyhood dreams. Like an eagle in the sky, I saw the world from a completely different perspective. I could “walk like Ive got oil wells / pumping in my living room.” (7-8). As I stepped down from the dais, my instructors came one by one to shake my hand. As I returned their salutes, I saw mirrored in them my own self and realized what a fine job they had done in transforming a raw youth into an officer. As I continued my path through the ranks of military hierarchy, understanding the determination required of myself and others to achieve these goals, I developed an understanding for the spiral, upward swing of Angelou’s final, parting words, “I rise, / I rise, / I rise” (41-43). Works Cited Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise”. The Poetry of Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, 1993. 163-64 Read More