Know My Name: A Memoir

by Chanel Miller

The bird at the front, the tip of the V, had the hardest job facing the greatest amount of wind resistance. The air coming off the leader’s flapping wings lifted the birds flying behind it. Being the leader was grueling, so the birds took turns. When a bird exhausted itself, it trailed to the back, where it wouldn’t have to flap as hard, riding waves of wind that have been broken down by others. It saved

its energy so that it could lead again.

The most important thing to remember was that to be at the rear, to be slower, did not mean you were not a leader.