In life people face many challenges which lead to growth. Analyze how Essay

In life people face many challenges which lead to growth. Analyze how challenges help people grow in many ways - Essay Example Maya Angelou’s autobiographical work ‘Graduation’ explores the author’s personal struggles and the obstacles she faced particularly in relation to racial prejudices while attending her graduation ceremony from a segregated middle school in Arkansas. The author discusses the range of emotions she felt before, during and after the event. Initially, her primary feelings were those of excitement and pride at her educational achievements and accomplishments. She then went through a period of disappointment and anger while eventually letting go of the animosity she felt for others. The author’s anticipation and enthusiasm at her impending graduation was well-deserved. She had received good grades and her family, particularly her mother, was extremely proud of her. Their preparations were detailed and filled with joy as she was given gifts, money, words of wisdom and praise. However, as the author sat at the ceremony and listened to the speeches, it became clear to her that the achievements of her black classmates were not regarded in the same way as those of her white contemporaries. The authors feelings changed immediately as she was overcome with disappointment, anger and resentment as this served to remind her of the stereotypical ‘place’ of black people as the time in terms of taking on quite menial positions such as cleaning and labour. Aspirations of further educational achievements and more respectable positions were dashed from her mind in these moments as she pondered â€Å"It was awful to be a negro and have no control over my li fe† (Angelou 37). In Andre Barrett’s ‘A Hole in the Wall’, the author similarly reflects upon a time in which she experienced a traumatic and emotionally distressing event, in this case, the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. She recounts how very shortly after she and her husband moved to the city, she witnessed the fateful