Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls free essay sample

Oprah Winfrey, a born heroin Introduction: The word hero means a lot of things to different people. To some, a hero is like the main character in a movie who saves people in danger, who protect them and who submits himself in a difficult and dangerous situation Just to help other people in trouble. But what makes a hero? What are the characteristics of a hero and how one becomes a hero? I. Characteristics of a hero I have identified three main characteristics of a hero and these are courage, perseverance and decisiveness. Miriam Polster wrote in her article Eves Daughter published by Gestalt Journal Press in 2001, the Five Shared Characteristic of Heroism and identified courage as one of the most particular trait of being a hero. To quote, It is almost redundant to say that heroism requires courage, both physical and mental; personal cost takes a backseat to getting the Job done. The traditional hero often risks death or injury. A person shows courage in times where situation is dangerous and difficult and this quality enables a person to face a danger without showing fear and oftentimes the urpose is to fght for the cause of other people, thus making him a hero. Perseverance on the other hand demonstrate a persons determination and to be able to bear difficulties calmly without complaining. Lastly, decisiveness gives a person the quality to lead others, make decisions firmly and fght for it no matter what. II. Oprah Winfrey as my hero Oprah Winfrey is a very popular TV personality in US whose fame reached all over the world because of her philanthropic acts. I consider her a hero/heroin for so many things but most importantly because of her courage, perseverance and decisiveness o overcome her unfortunate life as a child yet did not stop her from helping other people of different kinds and races. Despite her status on life, she remained humble and down to earth. A lot of publication about Oprah Winfreys life had been published and it described her horrible experience during her childhood. Born to young unwed parents, it was her grandmother who took care of her until the age of six. She was taken back by her mother however the difficulties begun when she was repeatedly abused sexually by her cousin, uncle and other relatives. This made her stubborn, angry and always running from home. At the custody of her father, Oprah got pregnant at the age of 14 and delivered an immature baby boy who died 2 weeks after. This might have turned her life around as she promised herself to stand up and start a new life. IV. Career and Professional Life Ever since she was in her younger years, she demonstrated her interests in reading books and media in general so with the help of her father, she landed a Job as a reporter in a radio station and continued to pursue a career in television roadcasting. Finally, she started her first TV show in 1976 entitled People Are Talking. Being a good-natured person, she constantly won the hearts of her audience and topped the ratings even when she moved to Chicago and hosted her own morning program. In 1986, she started the Oprah Winfrey Show and until today Oprah continued to be the most watched program in the world as her stories captured the sensibilities of all people, mostly ordinary ones. V. Major Works: Philanthropy Being a celebrity comes with responsibility. Famous people have the power to nfluence, help and touch the lives of others. As she climb up in her career, Oprah decided to establish a foundation called Oprahs Angel Network to encourage people to make a difference in the lives of others. Being exposed with people who she knew were capable of giving and sharing their blessings, Oprah became a significant bridge. According to the Angel network website, the foundation spreads its help not only in the US but also in Africa and Asia working on different aspects mostly on children and womens welfare. Projects include providing better education, giving of books, food, shelter, Justice, peace, empowerment of women among others. In her official biography published in her website www. oprah. om, she is described as a philanthropist and known for her commitment to children. During a December 2000 visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah pledged to build a school Leadership Academy Foundation, to which she has contributed more than $40 million toward the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls†South Africa, which opened in January 2007. Aside from this foundation, Oprah also supports other charities even if it is not affiliated with the Angel Network and additio nally working on her private foundation donating her personal money. VI. Future Plans Earlier this year, Oprah announced that this year would be the final year for her show that saddened a lot o people. But talks of her starting her own network next year was also a probability. One thing is sure however and this is her continuous work on her passion- helping other people. This shows her perseverance to share all the blessings she gained. In ne of her interview, she said that doing charity is her way of life and nobody can ever stop her from doing it. VI. Conclusion Heroes are known for their courage, perseverance and decisiveness and they are usually honored because of the extraordinary things they do to help others. Oprah is a classic example of this. But we have to remember that a lot of people though can be a hero in their own little way. As long as their intention is pure and they are willing to sacrifice, fight for what is right and make a difference in the lives of other people, then they too can be our heroes.