Oprah Winfrey as a Nowadays Hero

What is a hero? A hero is someone you look up to or admire. This could be a family member, teacher, friend, celebrity, or even a random stranger who did a kind deed. The acts of heroism are considered as an inspiration to others and a reference but, it takes certain characteristics such as courage and selflessness. Someone I would consider a hero is Oprah Winfrey, she is one of the most powerful and influential women of our time. 

Oprah was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She had a rough and challenging childhood, Oprah’s mother gave birth to her at a very young age so she lived with her grandmother on the farm for the first few years of her life. There she taught Oprah how to read and write by the age of 3, she was considered a gifted child in the community. She was just about nine years old when her life was changed forever, she was raped by a teenage cousin. Over the next five years, she was molested by three other men, they all happened to be friends of the family. As she got older there was a lot of moving between households and not having a stable parent role model in her life. Her past experiences have helped her into becoming the strong woman she is today. 

She was gifted with being a very good speaker; she won a speech contest and earned a full scholarship at Tennessee State University. During college she was a news reader on a local radio station and realized then that she would be in radio and television because she loved it so much. When Oprah was 19, she was offered a job at CBS news station in Nashville; she became the first female African American news anchor in Nashville history. Then soon after they moved her to a TV talk show called “People are Talking.” Her first day on the job Oprah immediately realized this was her calling. Not too long after the show became very popular. She was then transferred to host a morning TV show in Chicago called “A.M. Chicago” This show was in last place in the ratings. However, in just a few months , “A.M. Chicago” had taken over first place.Eventually the show was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey show” and was broadcasted all over the country. 

Oprah Winfrey supports and donates to many different types of charities and causes, one of Oprah’s many missions in life is to genuinely help people and make a big difference in our society. In 2007 Oprah made a huge impact on so many young girls and families lives, Oprah had invested $40 million to help educate kids in south africa and she is now the founder of the The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. About 3,500 girls applied to be students at the academy, but only 152 would be accepted in grades seven and eight. However, a couple years later, 450 girls will attend the grades 7-12. Oprah's school provides places for students to live,science and computer labs, a library, and a wellness center. Winfrey decided to build the academy, because many of the public schools in South Africa lack books and other material that the kids would need to obtain a good education. And the schools are not safe either, especially for girls. Winfrey has said she wants the academy to be the best school in the world, and she wants all its students to go to college. By giving girls a good education, Winfrey hopes they will be able to help their families and their country.  

Oprah Winfrey - is a real nowadays hero for me. She has supported many causes through her money, fame and emotional and spiritual support. I admire Oprah in so many ways; she puts a lot of passion into her work and has a strong position in what she believes in.