Oprah Winfrey

The dictionary defines a hero as a person noted for features of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. Oprah fits that description. Everyone knows she has a talk show and is one of the richest women but she does more than that. She helps people get their life in order and shows them how to work out their problems. During Hurricane Katrina she helped many victims get their lives on track. She opened "Oprah's Angel Network Katrina Home Registry," to build homes for the Katrina victims. She also launched a child predator watch list through her show targeting child molesters. Oprah has done a lot in these past years since she's been known. She is a healer, a helper, and touched by an angel.

Oprah Winfrey is the most successful talk show host in American television history. She started broadcasting in the early 1970's, after reporting TV news in Tennessee and Maryland. She landed a job on the morning show of A.M. Chicago in 1984. The next year she got a job acting in "The Color Purple" and was nominated for an Oscar. In 1986 she started her own talk show with the Oprah Winfrey Show which showed celebrity interviews and discussions of social issues. The show hit big and within ten years she became one of the richest women in the United States. Oprah Winfrey is considered one of the most powerful women of our time since Madam C.J. Walker, who developed hair products for black women and was quite the business woman.

Magic Johnson once said, "When heroes act, they take the concept of hope and they make it real, something you can see and feel and touch." Oprah is a person who is set apart from other people and this makes her someone to look up to. She is a very intelligent women who worked to get to her position today and doesn't care how people judge her. She made it known that she had a weight problem, and was molested by her family members at a young age. She proved to people that she is a strong independent woman and no one can stop her from accomplishing her dreams. Most people take success for granted and when they get to a higher position, where no one can reach their level, they don't know how to handle it and then their career comes crashing down. But Oprah knows what she's doing and she considers other people's lives and takes people under her wing. "What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people's lives." She is considered a hero for many people and she continues to make an impact on more peoples lives, one day at a time.

The admiration I have for Oprah is that she is a strong independent black female. She started from scratch and worked her way up to get to the position she is at today. She knew what she wanted to do at the age of three. She has connected to people all over the world. She's like a singer but instead of expressing what she feels in music she expresses her feelings through talking. She is changing more and more people's lives. The way she touches people's lives is just amazing because she makes a big impact. She not only thinks about herself, she thinks about other people. She isn't selfish like every other "celebrity." She puts people first. Not only will she continue to keep touching people's lives, she will live to be admired.

Despite her fame and her wealth, she is still a down to earth person. She isn't trying to be the average "celebrity." She is just being herself and helps the world whenever they are in need. We need more people like Oprah Winfrey so our world could be a better place, and not have teens trying to look like Britney Spears or act like someone they're not. It doesn't matter what's outside. It matters what you have on the inside. Oprah shows people how to work hard for what they want and that you don't have to change who you are to accomplish your dreams.