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Oprah winfrey overcoming challenges
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Oprah Winfrey once said, “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude” (Flanagan 118). This quote is a testimony to her personal life. Born in 1954 whenever African Americans were still fighting for equality, Winfrey had racism to endure. Additionally, her family faced much economic hardship. During her childhood, Winfrey encountered physical and sexual abuse. Somehow, she persevered against all odds to become one of America’s most significant philanthropists. Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to all because of her dexterity to conquer her adversities to attain any goal.
Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, was only 18 years old whenever she gave birth. Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, was unaware that he had a child until months after she was born. He was excluded from Winfrey’s life originally, for he was a soldier away in Mississippi. That meant that Oprah would be receiving care from her mother and grandmother in the deepest of poverty (Weston 13). Winfrey said, “I am grateful for living in poverty because it makes success so much more rewarding” (“Dave and Oprah Recap”).
After a few years, Winfrey’s mother traveled to Milwaukee for a job opportunity as a maid. She left Winfrey under the sole supervision of her grandma, Hattie May Lee. Winfrey later said, “I am what I am today because of my grandmother; my strength, my sense of reasoning, everything” (Weston 14).
Hattie May had grown too sick to care for Winfrey, so she was sent to live with Lee in Milwaukee. Her new home was one room in a boardinghouse. Winfrey said, “I felt like I was an outcast. I don’t know why my mother ever decided she wanted me. She wasn’t equipped to take care of me. I was just an extra burden ...
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...ty. She has transformed from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, all by having faith and perseverance. She believed that she had a higher purpose in life, and that God was leading her on the path to change the world. In fact, her final words on the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show, “To God be the glory” (Flanagan 106). Though she stumbled on this path due to resentment and anger, she returned to her good ways with the stern love from her father and a second chance at life. Winfrey was able to achieve great things by believing in herself and in others. She has contributed millions of dollars to help women, families, and children to be supported in education and in life. What makes Winfrey such a remarkable being is that she was able to overcome her adversities to achieve any goal. Her selfless acts are appreciated by the millions of people that she influences.
Oprah Winfrey is an outstanding & determined bright woman. Winfrey is a very advocate person. She has encouraged and inspired many people, but when she was growing up it was rough for her, but after her courageous and outstanding work, she is now a billionaire and helps a lot of charities.
Winfrey was born in rural Mississippi where her grandmother was so poor that she would sometimes dress Oprah in clothes made from potato sack and for that, she would get teased by her classmates. Grandma Lee was also rather strict as she would beat Oprah with a stick if she misbehaved or didn't sing the church hymns and choirs correctly. But despite being poverty stricken and strict, her grandmother was very encouraging and taught Oprah how to read the bible before the age of three.
Although she was with her mother, she had very little mother and daughter time. She, unfortunately, was neglected and at the age of nine, she began to be sexually abused by many men. After this occurred, Winfrey began to act out. She faked a robbery, stole from her mother, and much more, causing her to go live in Nashville with her father and stepmother. This change saved her life. She lived under the household of her father who had very high expectations of her. She started to excel in high school and won a contest that granted a full scholarship to Tennessee State University after her graduation. She worked at...
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi living with a poor Baptist family (Wikipedia). Her parents, Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee were unmarried and still teenagers during the time she was born (Wikipedia). She lived with her grandmother where she would learn how to read aloud and recite sermons by the young age of 3 (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 13 she would move to Milwaukee with her mother and that's when the trouble would start (America's Beloved Best Friend). She would face sexual abuse and molestation from her family relatives as a teenager, by her cousin, family friends, and her uncle (Victoria Walker). Oprah would keep this a secret and would bottle up her anger, which lead to trouble (Victoria Walker). She would repeatedly run away from home and was sent to juvenile detention, but her admission would be denied because the detention's overcrowded area (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 14 she was impregnated by one of her abusers, but the baby would become stillborn, and this would devastate Oprah (Victoria Walker). Her mother would send her to live with her father as a last resort. She vowed to change her life (Victoria Walker).
Winfrey’s early life was filled with arduous hurdles from the beginning, she was raised in a small podunk town in Mississippi that was anything but safe for a young girl, but on top of that she was raised by a single mother who was not around nearly enough. However the most formidable part of her upbringing was, she was sexually abused by ‘family friends’ and relatives on multiple occasions starting from the age of just nine. At twelve she was sent away to middle Tennessee to live with her father, there she realised her passion, she began giving speeches in front of her church and ultimately came to the conclusion that she wanted to speak for a living. Without her parents divorce Winfrey might have never figured out her passion of speaking to people until it was too late, this was a hidden advantage in the making of her success. However all too soon she had to leave the comfort of her father’s home where she could pursue her interest and journey back to her mother, where she was sadly yet again
Winfrey, Oprah, and Bill Adler. The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in her Own Words. New York: Carol Pub. Group, 1997. Print.
Oprah Winfrey lived a very rough early life until Vernon Winfrey took her into good hands. She lived in Kosciusko, Missippi for the first 6 years of her life, and then she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who was a housemaid. When Oprah lived with her mother she was sexually molested during the daytime when her mother would work the long days. This abuse went on everyday possible for 4 years until she was out on her own at age 14. Oprah had given birth to a baby, which had unexpectedly died during infancy. After the baby had died she moved in with her Father who lived in Tennessee. “Vernon Winfrey was a strict parent, but he gave his daughter the secure home that Oprah needed. He saw to it that she met a curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report as well. “As strict s he was,” says Oprah, “ he had some concerns about me making the best of my ...
During her childhood years living with her mother, Oprah had very little money and life was difficult. She wants to help as many children as possible grow up in a sound, safe, and educational environment. Oprah has changed the world with all of her organizations and charity efforts. Oprah Winfrey has helped thousands of children attend school with her scholarships that she has funded. Many of these children would never go to school or continue their college career without her amazing efforts of providing financial support to these children. Oprah also helped build homes for families through her efforts with Habitat for Humanity and her donations after Hurricane Katrina helped families start their lives over again after the mass destruction of the hurricane by providing the financial support to rebuild many communities and neighborhoods(“Oprah Winfrey”). When researching Oprah Winfrey, I now realize why she is such an incredible person. The world is a better place because of Oprah Winfrey. This is another example of a person that has worked very hard to achieve her goals in life. Oprah strived for her dreams of being able to give back to the community and world. Oprah came from nothing, built an empire and became one of the most influential people in the world. While building an empire, Oprah has influenced millions of people achieve a better way of live. Oprah has positively
This essay I have decided to write about Oprah Winfrey. This is because Oprah had many serious life events. These life events must have implemented her key development stages or the other.
After that she never looked back, she kept her hard work going on and on until she reached to the height where she belongs presently as one of the wealthiest person in America and one of the most influential people in the world. Being a black woman in the white man’s world, she overcome the hurdles on her path and successfully demonstrated her determination, knowledge and persistence that she is an intelligent and focused businesswoman. Her strong belief in herself made her an extra-ordinary individual who proved that she can adapt the white man’s world and
Oprah was born into poverty on her grandma’s farm in Mississippi, she persevered through her hard childhood. “Born to an unwed teenage mother, Oprah Winfrey spent her first years on her grandmother's farm in Kosciusko,”(1) Oprah Winfrey didn’t have her mother when she was young
Oprah was born on a farm in 1954 to a poor family. Winfrey enjoyed reciting African American poetry, and became known as the "little speaker" in her town. When she was 12, Winfrey won $500 for a speech she gave at her father 's church. From then on she wanted to "be paid to talk." When Winfrey was a teenager, her dream was put on hold. Some of the trusted men of her family began to sexually abuse her. She lashed out in anger at the world by lying to her mother, running away from home, and stealing. Unaware of what Winfrey was going through, her mother sent her away to live with her father. If her mother never sent her away, Oprah 's life would have been much different. At age 17, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant and was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station for the African American community in Nashville. Oprah continued to work at WVOL in her first years of college, but her broadcasting career was already taking off. She left school and signed on with a local television station as a reporter and anchor. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News as a co-anchor. There, she co-hosted her first talk show, People Are Talking, while continuing to serve as anchor and news reporter. In January 1984, she was invited to Chicago to host a half-hour morning program on WLS-TV. In less than a year, she turned AM Chicago into the hottest show in
On January 29,1954, Oprah Winfrey was born to Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Winfrey lived with her mother and was sexually abused by older men (biography.com). When Winfrey was just 14 years old when she was pregnant and sent to live with her father but later the baby died. Winfrey was her father and
Oprah Winfrey is an African American woman who is known as a U.S. media celebrity. She has done so much to contribute to society as we know it and her legacy will forever live on. Mrs. Winfrey is well known and she uses her platform for positivity and love, which is a huge reason for her success. She is an intelligent leader who worked hard for the spot she has in life and strives to encourage others to be successful also. Mrs. Winfrey has written books, acted and produced films, hosted an infamous television show, and given to charities. Her hard work and dedication has made her one of the most influential women of all time. She strived for greatness and accomplished what she wanted out of life, despite various obstacles that had been in the
... Although Oprah has experienced excruciating periods of her life, she still has proved that anyone can make a difference, no matter what his/her background may be. Oprah is living proof that anything is possible, and dreams do come true. Oprah has proved to people everywhere that true joy in life comes from giving to those who are in need.