My Farewell to "The Oprah Winfrey Show"

As I watched the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show today, I felt an overwhelming sense of inspiration from her final words and felt as though she was giving a personal commencement speech or even a sermon DIRECTLY to me!

My favorite part of the final show is when she clearly and profoundly stated that it is GOD who makes all things possible and it is in Him that she believes. I was happy that she finally said this because I always knew that we shared, among other things, a belief that it was something BIGGER that is in control of our lives.

I don't remember the first time that I watched The Oprah Show but I do know that she has been an influential staple in my life for a long time. As a plus-sized, HBCU-educated black woman journalist from the south (NC), I see many parallels between Oprah's life and mine, and although I was not abused in the way that she was when she was younger, she is an example and blueprint for what is possible in my life.

This ending of an era and turning point in Oprah's life aligns with the turning point in my life now, as I am 23 with a Master's degree and moving into the next stage of my life. She never missed a day in 25 years and this in of itself is a BIG inspiration for me as I start my career in journalism. The thing that stuck with me the most from her message was when she described what she believes a calling is:

"A calling lights you up & lets you know that you are EXACTLY where you're supposed to be & doing EXACTLY what you're supposed to be doing."

These words are and will continue to an inspiration for me to work harder and be an inspiration to others as she has been to me. I want to be that for young teenage women of color through a magazine and mentoring program to help them recognize their worth. That is something that I pride myself in and first realized by watching Oprah's show.

Her last words on the show were "To God be the glory" and I feel that was the PERFECT way to end such a groundbreaking and inspirational show that touched so many lives over the past 25 seasons. With the final show, I believe that Oprah Winfrey passed the torch and I will gladly pick off where she left off. Thank you SOOOOO much Ms. Oprah for being an inspiration to me and I plan to follow in your footsteps in the footsteps.

THANK YOU OPRAH!!!!!!!!!!

Ciara and Kim K...Can't We Live Our OWN Lives???

Maybe it is just a coincidence that just a few months after her good friend LaLa Vasquez married Carmelo Anthony and moved home to NYC, Ciara landed a Knick of her own in Amare Stoudemire.

I saw this coming with her attending all of the Knick games with LaLa and taking pictures all around instead of rebuilding her career that she would want to get a piece of this lifestyle for herself, especially if her day job isn't working out anymore. I guess she wants to be a baller wife now, but is it just love or copycat?

Everyone watched as Lala and Carmelo got married and all of her girlfriends looked on with joy and a little bit of sadness because they were all still single. And now that she has moved back home and living in the BIG city of NYC, some of them seem to be flocking to get some of the attention, but why can't they just be who they are and not try to be just like their girlfriend? Yes, they are entitled to date whoever and move wherever they want, but I feel like they are just trying to get what Lala has instead of continuing to do their own thing.


The same can be said about LaLa's other friend and consistent baller boo Kim Kardashian, who just happened to find an NBA player in the NY/NJ area in the Nets' Kris Humphries. Sure she had a show of her own that was shot in the city, but is she sticking around just for the spotlight, as most of her business is done in LA? She is a mainstay in the tabloid with a story every other day about whether or not they are getting married, & I already feel that she is very calculated in every move that she makes, from business to pleasure.


I guess that Lala DOES have the life that everyone wants, because apparently they are breaking their necks to be a part of it. Just be happy for your girlfriend and embrace being single. I would hate to see more of these quickie celebrity romances end up ruined and they be even messed up than before (Do the names BOW WOW and REGGIE BUSH ring a bell?)