Oprah Winfrey, Superwoman

Oprah Winfrey, Superwoman

In life I believe that there are two kinds of people. Those who make a difference and than the others who don't. The people who make a difference are called a hero in our society. These people make life worth living to a lot of people, and make a difference to even more. We admire these people, and are inspired by them. We hope that one day we can inspire and influence as many people as they did. It is these people who truly bring good to our societies, and work for the better good of man kind, as well as the world.

One such person is my hero. Her name is recognizable to many people, that name is Oprah Winfrey. I remember as a little girl watching her show and hoping that one day I could be like her; and strong and beautiful person. One who gives to society, not based on political or selfishness, but based upon the fact that it is always good to help your fellow man. She has gotten much criticism over the years about her struggle with being overweight; a battle in which Oprah has fought and very gracefully overcome. Oprah is a influential person in America as well in many parts of the world. Her battle to end illiteracy, giving to the poor, and giving a better quality of life to people is commendable and very respectable.

Through her work in Habitat for Humanity and her own Angel Network she has given back lives to people who had no hope. Many people who have issues with their own weight were inspired as she lost the pounds, and showed how she did it. It seems like every girl and women in this country love and admires her. She is a powerful and wonderful woman in American culture.

In a time where 92 million adults (which is over 47%) can not read or write well enough to hold a above-poverty-wage- job; and more than 40% of adults are functionally illiterate (they can read or write just a few words) (The Benefits). This pandemic inspired Oprah to do something, so she decided to start a club. The "Oprah book club" is one of the things she has been doing on the show for the last few years. She basically picks a book by a favorite author and tells her audience and listeners to go on Amazon.com and buy the book. Then she dedicates a few shows to talking about the book. On the outside you may not see how this is helping to fight the battle to end illiteracy, but what is really not told to people is that a portion of the proceeds from the book that Oprah chooses are given to organizations that are fighting to end the literacy crisis; such as the ALA (American Library Association), and the Association for Childhood Education International. These proceeds go to buying new books for libraries, putting books in classrooms, and many other things to fight illiteracy(ALA/ALSC).

Many women also watch her shows and want to be part of the huge group of people reading these books. So they buy them and follow along, not knowing that they are increasing their own skills of grammar and spelling by doing so. Giving everyday women hidden education is a thing that Oprah does almost effortlessly. I really do think that one of Oprah's main goals is to empower the everyday woman, giving her more options in her life then she currently has. Oprah is well known for liberal views and feminist nature. I believe by ending illiteracy, especially in women, she is in fact evening the playing field.

Giving to the poor is Oprah's middle name! Oprah does so many things for the less fortunate, from giving to the poor to working with Habitat for Humanity among many other organizations. She also started her own organizations to help rebuild homes after the Hurricane Katrina. Also being a proud African American she invested a lot of her time making people aware of the poverty that has stricken many African nations and tribes. She has dedicated many shows to the topic. In 2002 she even went to South Africa for 21 days and visited 50,000 kids(Oprah's Angel). Some were victims to the horrible illness of A.I.D.S. For these children she went to an orphanage and let them know that they were not forgotten about, but that they were indeed in many people's thoughts and prayers. Also in two separate provinces, she threw twelve parties for thousands of students. To show them the joy of learning with gifts of encouragement. For many of these poverty stricken kids she gave hope and cheer too. It is hard to imagine that with just one small gift to a child that has nothing, you can change their lives. This is a very heart-touching and wonderful thing to know that you can do so much with these much forgotten kids.

Another one of her shows that she does yearly is called "Favorite Things". For this show an audience of a few select people who give to others is chosen. They don't know before hand that they are to be on the Favorite things show. In this show, Oprah shows her favorite Holiday items, and gives them to the people in the audience. These people are the kind of everyday hero's in society that get overlooked and do things just out of the kindness of their heart. To these people Oprah gives theses gifts worth thousands of dollars to show the appreciation of the many people who look up to them.

It is once in awhile that someone starts and organization that actually gives so much back to the world, and makes such a difference. The Angel Network is one of these charities. She has dedicated more money then even fathomable to my mind. Her organization is the one that raised the money to provide all those presents to the kids in Africa. Everyone remembers the Tsunami. We remember the lives lost and all