There are a lot of pros and cons that I can say about him, but mainly pros! Haywood is a person that I can go to for advice. One day he asked me to write down all my goals that I want to do in life, so I did and he said first thing you have do is graduate from collage and high school. The proudest moment I had that he did was when he wrote me a note and slipped it under my pillow saying how he was proud to be my god father, right then and there I knew I know I could set any goal and be proud after I accomplish it. He tells me EVERYDAY that I have the potential to do anything, that’s if I set my mind to do it. He is also my basketball coach.

Haywood shows how much he love and care for me. I mean I can talk to him about anything if I wanted to because I know he would listen. The only thing I hate is he to hard on me because he knows I can be the best. Also I hate some of the stuff he do like smoke, I just get mad but I don’t show it. I also, hate it when he yell at me because I know he telling the truth but when he yells it make me feel like he’s downing’ me and doesn’t care anymore but I try to keep it positive because I know he do.

Haywood Floyd Burton has been the inspirational person to me. I can look at him like a role model and a father figure. I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t in life. I probably would’ve gave up on all my dreams and goals I had planned for my future. So the person I admire is Haywood Floyd Burton.

Dear Ms. Eckman,

            I just want to thank you for everything you have done for me. The first time I met you I knew we were going to get alone well. When I came here to this school the only thing that could keep me out of trouble was you and Tori. Every time I get into trouble you’re always there to give me some good advice. I call you my mom for a reason because you act like it, I love the fact I have a person in this school that cares actually about me.

            The things that you do and say really put a smile on my face even when I’m having a bad day. That’s the good thing about it, because I could be mad at a teacher but you, your crazy laugh, and the crazy stuff you do just make me laugh, what can I say you’re the best teacher ever. 

            I just want to think you for everything you have done and I love the fact that I met you. I love you Jennifer Lynn Eckman!

Much love,

Aaliyah Shanice Davis

Did you know Maya Angelou was one of the most best and known poetry? She wrote many of poetry down from Phenomenal woman to “My Grandson, Home at Last. She really experienced a lot in life. She is a really good poet. You know how she got her name she combined her childhood name “Maya”, with her first husband last name “Angelos” but she changed it around and made it “Angelou”.

Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was born as Marguerite Ann Johnson. She was the daughter of Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter Johnson. She has one brother name Bailey Johnson Jr. She got her nickname “Maya” by her brother Bailey Jr. At the age of 7 Maya Angelou was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. After all of that she stopped speaking because she believed as stated, “I thought if I spoke, my mouth would just issue out something that would kill people, randomly, so it was better not to talk.” Maya didn’t talk for five years. A man name Beulah Flowers helped her speak again and he introduced her to classic literature.

When Maya was 13 her and her brother went back to live grandmother in San Francisco, California. She attended Gorge Washington High School. She took lessons in dancing and drama on a scholarship at California Labor School. Before graduating he worked as the first black women streetcar conductor in San Francisco.

In 1944, after graduating Maya gave birth to her first child name Clyde (Guy) Johnson. To support her and her son she worked as a cocktail waitress, dancer, cook, and brothel madam. She worked a lot just to support her and her child. After some year later she married her first husband, Greek Sailor Tosh Angelos in 1952, but that marriage didn’t last long, it ended in 3 years.

She toured Europe with a production of opera Porgy and Bess in 1954-1955. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham. But she danced with a man name Alvin Ailey on television variety shows. She recorded her first album in 1957 it was called Miss Calypso. In the early 1960s Angelou met Vusumi Make, and with him her and her son moved with him to Cairo, Egypt. If you didn’t know Maya was married twice to Tosh Anglos (1949-1952) and to Paul Du Fu (1973-1980).

Maya lived in many different homes. She lived in as you know St. Louis, Missouri, and Stamps, Arkansas, and San Francisco, California, and Egypt, and Ghana, and Brooklyn, New York, and Los Angeles, California, also North Carolina. As I said she is a great poetry writer and she loves what she does.

Maya has Quotes that addresses me to:
1. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it change, change your attitude. Don’t complain.
2. Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I’m with you kid. Let’s go.”
3. Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere, yet I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure.
4. If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.
5. The honorary duty of a human being is to love.

Maya is an outstanding poetry writer I enjoyed writing about I had a lot of fun doing my research on her. As I began to look farther into her life began to realize that Maya wouldn’t be the writer she is today if she never would not have been through the stuff she went through. I and Maya relate a lot. We have a lot in common. If I was to see her to day I would say keep up the great work. If I was ever to be home by my self bored and see her poems lying around I would read them over and over. Maya is my idol, she inspiring, she tell it how it is but use in a different term.

Works Cited
“Maya Angelou” Wikipedia 4 Dec 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maya_angelou
“Maya Angelou” University of North Carolina 1998
http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/canam/angelou.htm
“Maya Angelou” The New York Times Company
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/mayaangelou/a/mangelouquotes.htm