Oprah Winfrey is recognized as one of the most powerful females in the world. An outstanding TV hostess, and an influential producer are among the titles she is known as.

She was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954. As a child, she lived with poverty and mistreatment. Although she was not offered everything on a silver platter, she still overcame her childhood struggles and made her mark in the world.

How did Oprah Winfrey overcome the setbacks and build her career from zero? It started when she was 19 and won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty contest. This was her stepping stone towards her journey to work in the media. She started her career as a radio and TV hostess in Nashville. Then she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted a local talk show called People Are Talking. This show gained popularity and this eventually led to her own national talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 seasons and was the highest-rated talk show in the history of television.

Oprah has a heart of gold and has been a supporter of many causes over the course of her career, such as education, health, and wellness. She has used her platform to inspire, teach, and entertain people worldwide through her charity organization known as the Oprah Winfrey Network. She also took a step for the education of girls in South Africa by starting the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.

Oprah Winfrey’s life is a true example of where being strong and determined can lead you. She has shown people that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it. The lesson we can learn from her is that no matter how hard things get, you can always find the strength to keep going and reach your goals.

Thirty-four years after graduating from high school, I found myself sitting with some of my former classmates for an all-school reunion.

Our conversation centered around funny things and what our classmates were up to now. Eventually, the conversation came to a classmate, Janelle. Jill said, “Has anyone been in touch with Janelle?” Diana said, “I tried to contact her for our last reunion. She never responded.” Jill said, “I’ve always felt bad about how she was treated.” There was a general murmur of agreement around the table.

It had started in elementary school when Danny, a popular kid who was always looking to be the center of attention, caught a glimpse of Janelle picking her nose. Unaware that she was being watched, she slipped her finger into her mouth. Immediately, Danny pointed at Janelle and exclaimed, “She ate her boogers (鼻屎)! THAT is SO disgusting.” The boys had a “grossed out”(恶心的) look on their faces and the taunt (嘲弄) was repeated by every boy. By the end of the next day, everyone in our class had known Janelle’s new nickname — “booger eater” and called it at least once. Reluctant to join in, somehow we did it anyway.

“Janelle never did anything. She just looked sad. Unfortunately, no one else did anything either. I wish any one of us had stood up for her,” said Jill. Everyone around the table agreed.

Each of us shared a time when we were reminded of Janelle over the years. Jill shared how her own daughter was bullied in school. Diana shared how her son came home from school and told her about his classmate being bullied, and they talked about how he could stand up for the child being bullied. I shared how we taught acceptance and kindness in my school. Several of us had tears in our eyes as we talked. We all regretted the part we played in the bullying.

When it was time to leave, Diana said, “I want to believe that, even though we cannot make amends (补偿) directly to Janelle, we can at least forgive ourselves. Let’s make an agreement going forward to do small acts of kindness in Janelle’s honor. We hugged each other tightly with damp eyes and agreed. I said, “I’m glad something good came out of that negative experience that happened so long ago.” Although forgiveness didn’t occur the way we wanted it to —with Janelle— forgiving ourselves feels good. We can’t change the past, but we can forgive and move forward.