My idea of a hero is a person who isdevoted to what he or she does, inspires others to believe inthemselves, and is willing to help the community.

Right now youmay think that my hero is a family member or friend. They definitelyinspire me and are there for me no matter what, but my hero is OprahWinfrey.

Oprah is always recognizing someone for a good deedthey did that may not have been noticed. Oprah lauds those who have aheart. One of her gifts that really inspires me is that shedoesn’t just listen to her guests, she hears them. She steps intotheir shoes and lives their lives as they speak. That way, she sees thestory from both her perspective and theirs.

On recent shows,Oprah has looked for known rapists, talked to rape survivors, and toldthe story of a dad who was inspired by his son.

The showfocusing on looking for rapists actually found one. He had been livingwith a family, his past unknown to them until a family friend saw hispicture on Oprah’s show. Who knows what would have happened withthe children in that house! Oprah probably saved a lot of trauma, maybeeven lives, by airing that episode.

Another show was about awoman who had been raped. She told Oprah she had been working in anairport radar area and was the first and only female in that room. Eachday at work she would be harassed. They would even lock her in the roomand hurt her like she was a toy for them to play with. No one at herworkplace believed her until she was on Oprah’sshow.

Another episode featured a boy who inspired his dad, andsaved his life. The boy was born without a voice and his body did notdevelop like it should have. One day the boy was given a computer sothat he could communicate and the first thing he told his dad was thathe wanted to run in a race. Because he was handicapped, his father wouldhave push him in a wheelchair. They ran 50 races a year, and in one ofthe races the father had a clot that would have killed him but hedidn’t because he was in such good shape because his son wanted torun races. Shivers!

Every story has a message. For example, Oprahexplained why she was so determined to find the rapists. She had beenraped many times when she was young and wanted to share what hadhappened to her so that it wouldn’t happen to others. Thatstatement, along with all the many others, really shows that she isdevoted to what she believes in.

Oprah Winfrey definitely fitsmy idea of a hero - she is very inspirational. &