Oprah Winfrey’s simple yet powerful wish for her ‘daughters’

Using two simple words, Oprah expressed what she wanted most for the graduates of her academy in South Africa

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Her iconic show may have long gone off the air but Oprah’s voice still resonates with many viewers who long to see her again.

So, it was a treat for many when she was featured in Huffington Post’s new series, Talk To Me, which features conversations meant to empower and inspire.

When she put up The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls it changed the lives of many young girls, whom she calls her “daughters.”

Though she does not have children of her own, she has become a mother to these girls.

She sat down with some of the graduates from her academy and gave the three young ladies important advice based on lessons she’s learned about love and life, most specifically from the late author, Maya Angelou.

“The very nature of moving through life is at some point you’re going to stumble…”

“I want you to live the fullest, truest height of expression of yourselves. You are going to fall,” she said. “The very nature of moving through life is at some point you’re going to stumble, but when you stumble it just means oops, detour. Got to move in another direction.”

She also shared how, throughout career and even to this day, she is usually the only woman and “certainly the only black person” in boardroom meetings.

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One of the graduates, Zimkita Mpumpula, thanked Oprah for changing her life and asked what her biggest wish is for the girls of her academy.

Her answer was simple. Just two words: “Your happiness.”

“Your success, however you choose to define that, is my reward, and your fulfillment as a human being,” she said. “I started out doing this as a gift to Nelson Mandela, as a gift to the country of South Africa, as a gift to each one of you. And it turned out to be the greatest gift I could have given myself.”

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The touching conversation caused Oprah to tear up.

“Barbara Walters always loved when she could make people cry,” she said. “Y’all are doing it. You got a little Barbara in you, girls.”

Watch the entire inspiring encounter below.

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READ: Michelle Obama releases girl power anthem with Kelly Clarkson and other artists

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Written by

Bianchi Mendoza