In Anthony Helibut's Aretha: How She Got Over, Seventy Years of Soul, he mentions Aretha having stage fright and starting off awkward and aloof in her performances. She was such a powerhouse, to imagine someone as insanely talented as her with stage fright is unfathomable. She has always been a comfort artist of mine and this tidbit made me like her even more because I've always had anxiety especially when it comes to public speaking. In Helibut's article was interesting to see the progression of Franklin from a young girl afraid to speak her mind and stand up to a woman who was confident in her own skin and not afraid to speak or sing her opinions.
I always admired Aretha Franklin when I was growing up, she was one of the artists I would turn to when I felt like I was losing myself. I vividly remember my mother blasting her music through the house when she would clean on the weekends singing along to "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". I also remember hearing her song "Respect" for the first time in the movie Akaylah and the Bee, both had a tremendous impact on me. It was one of the first movies I saw with a brilliant young black girl whose environment threatened to strangle her aspirations. Both the movie and the song served as a reminder of the standards I have to hold for myself, and not to be afraid to be brilliant.