There\u2019s so much negativity in our lives that drowns out all the positive, reassuring messages, whether it be on our social media feeds or our day-to-day lives. This Monday we wanted to share some inspiring positivity to help you kickstart your week on the right note. This is the story of Serena Williams, a name synonymous with excellence and strength today who faced her fair share of struggles when she walked out on the court for the first time. As an ode to her struggles, right before Williams\u2019 2016 win against Angelique Kerber marking here 22nd Grand Slam title and taking her WTA singles ranking to No. 1, the BBC posted a video montage that depicted what the 34-year-old ace player had to face during her career.<\/span><\/p>\n The video shows Williams reciting her favourite poem by the late American author and poet, Maya Angelou, titled \u201cStill I Rise\u201d during her 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year acceptance speech. The speech, the video and the poem are as powerful and beautiful as it is inspiring and we wanted to share them with you.<\/p>\n Still I Rise<\/b><\/p>\n By <\/em>Maya Angelou<\/strong><\/p>\n You may write me down in history<\/p>\n With your bitter, twisted lies,<\/p>\n You may trod me in the very dirt<\/p>\n But still, like dust, I\u2019ll rise.<\/p>\n Does my sassiness upset you?<\/p>\n Why are you beset with gloom?<\/p>\n \u2019Cause I walk like I\u2019ve got oil wells<\/p>\n Pumping in my living room.<\/p>\n Just like moons and like suns,<\/p>\n With the certainty of tides,<\/p>\n Just like hopes springing high,<\/p>\n Still I\u2019ll rise.<\/p>\n Did you want to see me broken?<\/p>\n Bowed head and lowered eyes?<\/p>\n Shoulders falling down like teardrops,<\/p>\n Weakened by my soulful cries?<\/p>\n Does my haughtiness offend you?<\/p>\n Don\u2019t you take it awful hard<\/p>\n \u2019Cause I laugh like I\u2019ve got gold mines<\/p>\n Diggin\u2019 in my own backyard.<\/p>\n You may shoot me with your words,<\/p>\n You may cut me with your eyes,<\/p>\n You may kill me with your hatefulness,<\/p>\n But still, like air, I\u2019ll rise.<\/p>\n Does my sexiness upset you?<\/p>\n Does it come as a surprise<\/p>\n That I dance like I\u2019ve got diamonds<\/p>\n At the meeting of my thighs?<\/p>\n Out of the huts of history\u2019s shame<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n Up from a past that\u2019s rooted in pain<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n I\u2019m a black ocean, leaping and wide,<\/p>\n Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.<\/p>\n Leaving behind nights of terror and fear<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n Into a daybreak that\u2019s wondrously clear<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,<\/p>\n I am the dream and the hope of the slave.<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n I rise<\/p>\n I rise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n