Annotated

From a very young age, she was abused and raped (Gale, 2001.) There were times where she even ran away from home. For many, going through different struggles may make it hard to move on and progress in life, however, Oprah Winfrey is one of many who learned to progress and make something out of nothing. Much like in the article “Bouncing Back,” by Melissa Balmain, Oprah used some of the strategies that were mentioned such as “pulling yourself forward,” and “taking control” (Balmain, Melissa.) The “pulling yourself forward” portion of Balmain’s article mentions having the desire to be strong. That has a very positive correlation to Oprah’s mindset when it came to changing her life for the better. The “taking control” portion of the article states that “Any positive step you take after a major loss can curb anxiety and help you move forward. (Balmain, Melissa.) This also correlates to how Oprah made her life better.

Oprah has made it known to the world, that as a child she was being raped and abused. When it comes to having a childhood that was as rough as hers, Oprah Winfrey could have given up, but instead she kept moving forward and eventually went to college. In other words, she did not let the actions that took place in her younger years affect her future. She learned to take control of her life, and not let what happened in the past affect her future in any negative ways. A perfect example is that she was the first woman to form her own production company (Gale, 2001.) Not only that, but she was also the only woman to own and produce her own show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. That proves that she did not let her past hold her back.

As stated in an article that was written by Rebecca VanDiver, Oprah used her platform from her show to discuss and tackle many issues that may sometimes be hard to discuss such as racial relations, child sex abuse, and political issues (VanDiver, 2014.) For someone who has been abused as a child, it takes a lot of courage to talk about this issue on a talk show. That just goes to show that Oprah really is someone who has overcome adversity and used it to move on and progress in life.

Not only has Oprah’s past caused her to want to make a better life for herself, but she also strives to help make the lives others better. Along with her talk show, she started many campaigns ranging from ones to help stop texting and driving to things like creating national databases for child abusers who have been convicted (VanDiver, 2014.) Her small acts of integrity go a long way when it comes to helping others. Oprah Winfrey’s ability to overcome adversity is one of the main reasons why she is such an influential person in the world today. In fact, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world, according to Time Magazine in 2011 (VanDiver, 2014.) She has shared her story with others and encouraged them to also share theirs along with how they overcame them.

Adversity is not an easy thing to overcome. The many struggles that come with life, are big enough to hold someone back from progressing, and having a successful future. Oprah Winfrey takes all of her hardships and struggles that she went through in life and uses them to help others. She is a living example of the saying “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” In other words, instead of giving up, she used her past to make herself a better person overall, which eventually lead to her success. Subsequently, Oprah Winfrey is greatly known around the world for her success, but many people do not know the hardships she went through in her life, to get where she is today.

Works Cited

American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, Victor Bondi, Richard Layman, Tandy McConnell, and Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2001.

Balmain, Melissa. “Bouncing Back.” Measure Heart Rate, Polar Heart Rate Monitors Measure Heart Rate, www.howtobefit.com/resilience-bouncing-back.htm.

VanDiver, Rebecca Keegan. "Oprah Winfrey Show, The." Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, edited by Carlos E. Cortés and Jane E. Sloan, vol. 3, SAGE Reference, 2014, pp. 1657-1658. Gale Virtual Reference Library,