"I had to stop talking. I discovered that to achieve perfect silence all I had to do was to attach myself leechlike to sound."
Coping with pain. A concept portrayed differently by every individual. How can someone, like Maya Angelou, find solace in attaching herself to others sound, while other people depend upon their own sound for recovery. Growing up, my two best friends took on each of these approaches. In one case, I knew everything that affected my dear friend's life, from the quarrel between her and her mother at breakfast to the details of her grandfather's funeral. In the other case, I knew nothing. This difference did not make me grow fonder to one over the other, but it showed me that pain is an area that defines who we are. As the two girls remained my best friends all throughout high school and even to this day, I wondered how two very similar people managed to cope with pain in two completely different ways. Maya Angelou's story centers around the various ways of coping with the past; not only in her own life, but even in the lives of those around her. While many can relate to Maya's reclusive attitude, others may wonder, how. Maya's story of pain and silence is unique and defines the person she has become today.
Coping mechanisms can be positive or negative or neither. They are just a way that every individual copes with the pain that he or she is going through. No way is necessary right or wrong. It is completely subjective depending on the individual. We all find solace in different ways.
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