Oprah Winfrey Ends Daytime TV Run on a High Note, Like Patti LaBelle, She Can be Imitated but Never Duplicated

Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey ends daytime run on a high note, having touched the lives of countless people across the world in many, teaching women and girls to love themselves unconditionally.

COMMENTARY: I never thought in a million years that we would be saying goodbye to the "Oprah Winfrey Show" on national television. I grew into adulthood watching Oprah during my undergraduate years at Ohio University and I gained a keen awareness of the world outside those college walls through Oprah's eyes.  Keen awareness of that my "blackness" was reviled by some white Americans -- white supremacists who walked off the set of her show, or even Hosea Williams, who was spat on by whites in Forsyth County, Ga. I grew up in a country, Jamaica, where I was limited by my capabilities and not by the color of my skin, so naturally, when I moved here, I expected the same thing. But history continued to manifest itself in more subtle ways then. I was called a nigger by a white student one night and I was mortified. I was ready to let him have it but I didn't. I walked away. Oprah taught me how to hold my head high and keep going. I did.

Oprah Winfrey taught me a powerful lesson, that my self-worth shouldn't hinge on a man loving me. I had to value myself above and beyond the assessment of others. In short, I had to love myself, in spite of my faults and mistakes. I had to learn to let the past be just that - the past. Oprah taught me that I can fly. I can literally touch the skies, but I have to be prepared to put in the work, hard work. I recall one episode in which she said, do what you love, the money and fame will come. That episode also reminded me of the parable of the talents and how the steward wasted all his talents by burying them. You can't expect to reach the pinnacle of whatever you envision if you don't use your God-given abilities to help you get there. I believe you must surround yourself with the right people, as Oprah has always said and has embodied.

Oprah introduced me to my favorite singer on the TV screen -- Patti LaBelle. I will never forget the first time I really paid attention to this incomparable singer, was one episode during which she sang the Lord's Prayer a Capella. That blew my mind. Her voice, her story, her conviction and her dedication to honing her craft to become one of the best singers of our time is nothing short of breath-taking and awe-inspiring. To think she started singing during a period in America where she had to use entrances and facilities for "colored people." I have followed Patti LaBelle and her career since that day, always in awe of her voice, even when she had bad days, as we all have experienced at some point in our lives, she was always the consummate entertainer. Some people have said, people with special talents, such as Oprah and Patti, were predestined to shine and become as famous as they have, but I think they would say, they have been incredibly lucky, worked hard, honed their craft and never gave up. These women have embodied the word resilience in every sense. They would say we all have the ability to rise above our circumstances and be the greatest person we possibly can be.

In the years after I graduated, I must admit I didn't watch Oprah regularly, but she had left an indelible mark in my spirit that I have taken with me through the years. I am a political news junkie and I have a vision for my website that I beam with joy when I share it with friends. I have had a long career in operations, but I never went into Journalism, as I should have. I came to a crossroad in my life four years ago and I decided my heart has always been in writing and Journalism. I have come full circle back to the place I started at Ohio University in the Scripps School of Journalism. So, yes, I am putting in the work, using the skills I have learned through the years in my various administrative capacities to run a growing online media enterprise, as well as the lessons learned at OU.

I must also admit, that Journalism is such a visible and visual career, that I shunned it, in part, because I always battled weight issues and I was never pleased with how I looked. I was always so self-conscious. I watched Oprah's battles through the years and realized that I wasn't the only one in that struggle and I had a lot to offer. I owe that epiphany in great part to two powerful women -- Oprah Winfrey and my mother, Admira Blake. My mother saw the goodness in me that Oprah has always championed on her shows. My mother saw a winner in me, when I couldn't see it one. My mother is my biggest advocate and supporter. My mother embodied the person Oprah has always been to many women and young girls. So, in closing, Oprah Winfrey has touched the hearts and souls of my women -- black, white, Asian, Muslim, gay, straight, transgendered, you name it! She has always led with grace, dignity and a fierce determination to succeed, even in the face of failure.Always deeply spiritual and a deeply anchored faith in the power of prayer.

Never in a million years would many expect Oprah Winfrey, a one-time wayward child from Kosciusko, Mississippi, to teach us us you can rise above your circumstances. She taught us the importance of giving back and being a servant-leader. Oprah Winfrey taught us that true beauty comes from within and not based on the superficial. This is indeed, the end of an era on daytime television as we know it. I have often said, there is no-one out there like Patti LaBelle. She can be imitated but never duplicated. The same thing holds true for Oprah. I salute you my sistah! You have done well. It is the end of an era. It is the end of "the age of Oprah."