“I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet” Many believe that this is a common Irish proverb, but its actual origin is Persian It was thought up by a man named Ab?-Muhammad Muslih al-D?n bin Abdall?h Sh?r?z?. The proverb was made popular by Helen Keller who used it to bring down her self pity and help others. It’s point is to tell people to never take what you have for granted because someone will always have it worse This proverb can be used in everyday life. One day while I was in the city with my parents, we planned on going out to dinner and then going to see a broadway show. While we were walking to the theater we noticed a man collecting bottles by the trash can.
My mom went up to him and offered him our leftovers from dinner. I’ve never seen a man smile so wide. He thanked us and actually offered us some of the bottles he was collecting. My sister and I thought it was a little weird to offer us bottles.
Later on I realized that those bottles were all that he had. This man had nothing left to give us so he wanted to give us the only thing that he owned. We politely declined his offer and continued going to the theater.
When we finally got to the theater I sat down and thought about what had just transpired. My mom was yelling at my sister and I for not doing anything and just standing there. I realized that she was right and that I was going to fix it when I got out of the theater. When the show was over we started walking back to the train station. I saw the man actually eating our leftovers against the wall of a building. I walked over to him and gave him a $20 bill.
He was so shocked and put down his food and shook my hand vigorously. He wouldn’t stop saying thank you. I smiled and said anytime and walked away feeling good about myself and what I had done. Something so small made someone’s whole day.This proverb is a very important one. One that I think a strong, important, powerful woman portrayed perfectly.
Her name is Oprah Winfrey. She came from very humble beginnings and is now one of the richest, famous, and most influential people in the world. She didn’t always have the best time in life growing up, but she made the most of it. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954. Her parents were Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. They were separated for most of her life and she moved back and forth between the two. Growing up she was mentally, physically, and sexually abused. When she was 9 years old she was raped.
She ended up becoming pregnant, but lost the baby 2 weeks after it was born. Even after she escaped her troubled childhood, Winfrey still faced struggles. When she went to Chicago, her supervisors said they had no chance to compete against talk show host Phil Donahue, whom she would eventually take over in ratings. Through all of the pain and struggle, Winfrey triumphed. She was thankful, she said, for everything that had happened.
“I would take nothing from my journey.” Oprah is a perfect example of this quote because she knew what it was like to have nothing and to come from nothing. Although she had a terrible childhood she did also have many good things come from it as well.
How she learned to read before she was three and how she skipped school because she wrote a note to her teacher. According to Forbes magazine, Oprah was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world’s only Black billionaire for three years running. Life magazine hailed her as the most influential woman of her generation. In 2005, Business Week named her the greatest Black philanthropist in American history.
Oprah has raised more than $50 million for charitable programs, including girls’ education in South Africa and relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. She is a dedicated activist for children’s rights; in 1994, President Clinton signed a bill into law that Winfrey had proposed to Congress, creating a nationwide database of convicted child abusers. In September 2002, Oprah was named the first recipient of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
