THE GIRL WHO STOLE THE SHOW AT BIDEN'S INAUGURATION
Lessons from the young life of Amanda Gorman
I usually do not watch inaugural speeches.
In this part of the world, nobody really listens to the speeches, especially those given by politicians; they are usually not planning to make sense, keep their words, or do anything for or with the people.
While I am interested in who leads America, I have watched none of their debates, speeches, or proceedings; the happenings in the past couple of months have made it clear that democracy in one of the most powerful countries in the world is failing as well. So, I am still disinterested.
But one thing caught my attention. It was the 22-year-old inaugural poet for the occasion – Amanda Gorman!
I love good poetry, and this young lady is fascinating to watch. The beauty, the intelligent design and use of language, the power and precision with which she stunned the audience, and finally what she stood for.
She didn’t get there today. At 16, she was named the inaugural Los Angeles Poet Laureate, and at 19, she became America’s first ever National Youth Poet Laureate while still a sophomore at Harvard University.
She recently graduated cum laude from Harvard and is already taking on the world as poet, writer, activist, and superstar.
Of course, I needed to do my research, and here are the six lessons I learnt from reading her story and listening to her deliver her brand of breath-taking poetry.
SHE OVERCAME A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT
Amanda Gorman was not necessarily born with a silver spoon. She was a young black girl raised by a single mother (an English teacher) in Los Angeles where she wrestled with a speech impediment for her entire life.
Maybe because she couldn’t talk very well, she had developed the habit of expressing her creative thoughts through writing. Then she fell in love with her words so much that she was willing to challenge fate and give life to those words; she practically fought to have a voice.
Listening to her recite that poem, one could be tempted to think that she got there because she was very good; however, the more accurate truth was that she fought her way to that podium, and she reserved her right to be there with sweat and tears.
Her story reminds me that your impediment is a gift, how you respond to it will determine if you are victim or a champion. You have every right to whine, complain, and even give up because of the bad hand life has dealt you; nobody will blame you.
However, you have a choice to find the inspiration to fight and turn your destiny around.
SHE LEARNT FROM THE MASTERS
In her struggles with her speech impediment, she had to go for speech therapy, and had to fight hard and to acquire that voice.
After getting glued to poetry after hearing her teacher read Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”, Amanda had turned to the works of Lin Manuel Miranda and Lesley Odom Jr. As formidable weapons in her arsenal for the battles, she needed to fight.
At 14, she joined WriteGirl, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that empowers young girls by mentoring them in creativity and self-expression. That was where the legendary wordsmith was forged.
You see, kings are not born. They are made on the platform of training, mentorship, and discipleship.
Who is mentoring you?
SHE STOOD ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
As she stood on that podium to recite, she wasn’t standing alone. She wore a bold ring of a caged bird given to her by Oprah Winfrey – an insignia of Maya Angelou.
She didn’t stand as Amanda; she stood with Maya, and Oprah, and Michele, and Kamala; she stood as the embodiment of the dreams and hopes of her ancestors – women of colour who have fought segregation and marginalization for generations.
She stood as a beacon of hope for the future America would be looking to.
SHE UNDERSTOOD THE TIME AND MAXIMIZED IT
From the title of her poem, Angela showed that she wasn’t just good with words, she understood time and how to appeal to the emotions of the country. The disgraceful event of January 6 was the inspiration behind the poem, and she killed it!
If you are a student of history, from her poem, you will hear America’s most creative spoken wordsmiths Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., but the message revolved around the current pain of America.
Stop punching aimlessly, be like the sons of Issachar, leverage the power of times and seasons, and watch your world defer to you.
SHE ADVERTIZED HER GOODS ON THAT PLATFORM
This is the bomb right here. I had never heard of Amanda Gorman before this inauguration, but I have checked out her two books on Amazon kindle. Her books topped Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s bestseller lists less than 24 hours after delivering that speech.
The books were not even commercially available yet and one of the titles is “The Hill we climb”, the same name as the poem she recited on her biggest stage yet.
She leveraged her skyrocketing social media traffic to advertise, and she hit bestseller without even publishing the books yet. Your opportunity will come, hope you will have something to sell by then.
Write those books now, develop that product now, build that business now, learn that skill now. Your time will come to give it to the world at your price; don’t let yourself down.
SHE SAW THE FUTURE
It is no longer news that Angela Gorman already told the world that she intends to be president of the US one day, and she even told us when she will be contesting to be president.
She said it in several speeches and even inserted it into the inaugural poem titled “The Hills we climb”. Call it wishful thinking, but Amanda Gorman has all the makings of a future president and she has some of the powers that be rooting for her.
I know the challenges of daring to dream when you live in sub-Saharan Africa. The harsh realities of life are formidable enough to rob you of your past dreams, present aspirations, and hope for the future.
However, you still need to dare to dream, and dream big.
Charles Aiyegbusi,
Edufortress Africa
