"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot not be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again," - Maya Angelou

On Wednesday, the world bid farewell to one of the greatest treasures of her generation, the beloved Maya Angelou, who passed away at age 86.

She died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, according to her literary agent, Helen Brann.

Angelou leaves behind her literary and spiritual legacy, noted as someone who never stopped learning and challenging herself as a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, activist, actress, singer, performer, producer and director.

The African-American, female-empowering trailblazer, who was like a wise and noble grandmother to many of us, regardless of race or gender, inspired millions with her work. She brought glimmers of hope that humankind was still good, still real and raw, yet full of heart.

It's safe to say that Angelou never took one day of her life for granted; she savored each day and loved her friends and family to the fullest, which remains evident in her words.

Until the very end, the poetic genius continued to guide others through her genuine words of wisdom, not only as a scholarly figure who was a friend of the iconic Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Oprah Winfrey, but as a woman of faith, one rich in spirit — as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who seemed to have lived a hundred lifetimes.

"Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God," was Angelou's last tweet on May 23 — proving that her words continued to resonate from the page to modern-day social media.

In 2009, before President Barack Obama was inaugurated for his first term, Angelou told CNN that she was "excited" and "hopeful," yet she acknowledged other races and genders, including females and Latinos, and was hopeful for them to forge ahead as well.

"In 30 or 40 years, [the election] will not be considered so incredibly important. ...There will be other people in those next three or four decades who will run for the presidency — some women, some native American, some Spanish-speaking, some Asian. We're about to grow up in this country," she told CNN.

Born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Angelou grew up between St. Louis and the then-racially-segregated Stamps, Arkansas. She suffered a traumatic incident where she was raped at the young age of 7 by her mother's boyfriend, who was later beaten to death by a mob after she testified against him, CNN adds. The renowned poet found solace in writing after the "childhood tragedy stunned her into silence for almost a decade."

During her lifetime, Angelou went on to wear many hats, starting by spending her early years studying dance and drama in San Francisco, California. She dropped out at age 14, but went on to make history in her own way — she became the city's first African-American female cable car conductor.

Angelou then returned to high school to finish her diploma and took on another first — motherhood at the young age of 17 when she gave birth to her son a few weeks after graduation.

With her passion for music and dance, Angelou toured Europe in the mid-1950s with the opera production "Porgy and Bess," and in 1957, she recorded her first album, "Calypso Lady."

In 1958, Angelou become a part of the Harlem Writers Guild in New York, and also played a queen in "The Blacks," an off-Broadway production by French dramatist Jean Genet, according to CNN.

She was bestowed the title of Dr. Angelou, in which she took great pride, yet the professor never went to college despite having more than 30 honorary degrees under her belt. She also taught American studies for years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Angelou, who spoke at least six languages, was a journalist as well. She worked as a newspaper editor in Egypt and Ghana. While in her editorial role, Angelou wrote the award-winning, international bestseller, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," launching the first in a series of autobiographical books.

The Tony Award-nominated multi-faceted poet was also one of the first black women film directors, using Broadway as another platform to uplift and inspire audiences.

In an excerpt from "Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration" in 1992, Angelou wrote: "I hope to look through my life at life. I want to use what has happened to me — is happening to me — to see what human beings are like."

Her life's work even inspired the North Carolina-based Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to open the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equality, which focuses on Latinos, African Americans and other ethnicities in its mission to reducing health care disparities in the U.S. 

Through her incredible journey, she discovered some of the best qualities of human life and we were lucky enough to have her share it with us through her literary gift and the warmth of her soul.