Who gives You Hope?

"I wanted it to be a message of hope and unity. And I think that [the inauguration] for me really just underscored how much that was needed," Amanda Gorman said on CBS before her performance at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris's inauguration ceremony, and what a performance it was: One of 𝕴𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 & 𝕳𝖔𝖕𝖊

I  honestly didn't know about this beautiful, talented, young and confident 22-year-old up until the time I sat up, way beyond midnight, to watch the United States inauguration ceremony live. And I must thank my sons for encouraging me to do so.

As I watched her deliver her poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’, the opening lines itself left me in awe; "When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?" Tears streamed down my cheeks as each line gripped me.

I was confused at what left me speechless… was it the poem, the command with which she delivered it, or the fact that she may very well be another Maya Angelou in the making! Do read up her poem, it is now trending all over social media.

That performance led me to read a little more about her and certainly follow her on social media. In just a few days she has already become a great inspiration to me! I see so much 𝕳𝖔𝖕𝖊 in her, the same 𝕳𝖔𝖕𝖊 she is instilling in many of us women around the world today.

So, Amanda Gorman happens to be the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she began writing at only a few years of age. You can read more about her & her work at https://www.theamandagorman.com/

I distinctly remember my college days...rushing home to make it in time for The Oprah Winfrey Show, someone who has and will always be an inspiration to many of us. Much of my work is inspired by Oprah and this leads me to ask you to think about the following : 

1. Who are the top 5 people who inspire you? 

2. List down their names and the work they do.

3. Read and understand their life Vision & Mission.

Do you see the congruence with your life and their lives? Hmmm…

Research has shown that you very likely could be the average of the top 5 to 10 people you are associated with physically and virtually. This leads me to encourage you to add more positive people to this list since there honestly should be little or no room for negativity and drama!

And now would also be a good time for us to update our follow lists; add/delete, friend/unfriend, follow or unfollow for that matter. 

I invite you to try this for 21 days and see if the research holds true!

Let’s bring in some more 𝕳𝖔𝖕𝖊 & 𝕴𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 into our lives. 

𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖞 𝕴𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖉!

*Amanda Gorman Pic credit oprahmag.com

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