(Trends Wide) — Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first Young Poet Laureate, recounted her fears ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration in an op-ed published Thursday, exactly one year later, in The New York Times.
Gorman, now 23, wrote that she was “terrified” and almost refused to be the inaugural poet.
He cited the fear of failing his community and his poetry, as well as the coronavirus pandemic before vaccines were widely available for his age group. He acknowledged the associated terror of reciting a poem on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, which a violent pro-Trump mob had attacked just weeks earlier.
“I was warned by a loved one to be ‘ready to die’ if I went to the Capitol building and said, ‘It’s just not worth it,'” she wrote.
Gorman wrote: “However, while the inauguration might have seemed like a ray of light, last year felt to many like a return to the same old blues. Our nation is still racked by disease, inequality, and environmental crises. But Although our fears are the same, we are not.
Gorman garnered national attention and rose to fame after reciting his poem “The Hill We Climb” on the day Biden was sworn in as president and Kamala Harris as vice president. He also made history by becoming the youngest person to perform at an inauguration. His riveting words challenged Americans to unify and “leave behind a better country than the one we have left.”
The historic events of Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 took place amid heightened security measures and COVID-19 precautions, including limitations on the number of guests in attendance.
As Gorman reflected on the terror he had experienced before he acted, he conveyed confidence to overcome his fear. He urged Americans to embrace a similar approach to anxiety, writing, “If you’re alive, you’re afraid. If you’re not afraid, then you’re not paying attention. The only thing we have to fear is not being afraid itself, have no feelings for who and what we have lost, (for) who and what we love.
Gorman shared that she still struggles with her fears “every day,” but concluded on an evocative note: “Fear can be love doing its best in the dark. So don’t fear your fear. Admit it. Release it.”
