Mother Teresa and Oprah Winfrey are compared.

Mother Teresa and Oprah Winfrey are two people who are well-known around the world for the work they have done in the past and the impact they have had on many people. Because of their incredible achievements as well as the devotions they have endured, they have inspired people of all ages. Both pioneers were able to climb to the top of their respective worlds after overcoming adversity in their lives. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 27, 1910. She was baptized and given the name Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu shortly after her birth (Slavicek, 2007). At the time of her birth, Skopje was situated within the Ottoman Empire which was earlier ruled by Turks. Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29th, 1954 as asserted by Cynthia (2004). Both Oprah Winfrey and Mother Teresa have some similarities such as fame but they equally hold many differences in their lives, as well as accomplishments.

Childhood Lives

At a young Age, Oprah Winfrey always experienced difficulties because her parents were not married. The situation intensified when her parents, Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee separated almost after her birth and she was forced to live with and be raised by her maternal grandmother (Cynthia, 2004). She never got to know the love of a father and mother in a united family. Although she loved her grandmother, the life Oprah lived was a little challenging because she was not educated as pointed out by Dow and Noce (2002). Her grandmother also taught her how to shape letters as well as some stories from the Bible. However, she was taken to her mother when she was six years old, a time during which she was sexually abused by her relatives as well as friends because of the negligence of her mum (Cynthia, 2004). Oprah’s mother did not accord her attention and at her tender age of fourteen; she was sent to live in Nashville with her father as pointed out by Dow and Noce (2002). It is because of the father that her life began to be shaped in the right direction. Her father was good and provided Winfrey with guidance and good education as asserted by Cynthia (2004).

Agnes on the other on the other hand had a different childhood as compared to Winfrey. For starters, she was born in a family where both her parents were present contrary to Winfrey. She was able to enjoy the love of both parents. She was the last of three children and her father and mother, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu respectively, were Albanian grocers as pointed out by Hitchens (2012). Her parents were devoted church members who influenced her values at a young age. At the age of eight, her family experienced a blow when the father died unexpectedly, leaving Agness under the care of her mother. Contrary to Winfrey’s mother, Agnes’ mum was loving and she played a big role in the shaping of her later life. She would mostly invite people from outside the family to dine with them which installed the sense of charity to Agness as she would later imply as pointed out by Slavicek (2007).

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Education and Career

Winfrey and Agnes underwent different education programs because of their interests. While Winfrey was mostly interested in shaping her future and regaining herself from the oppression she received as a kid, Agnes was mostly attracted by the poor and developed a liking towards the less fortunate in the society. As a young girl, Winfrey wanted to be an actor and she even joined a drama club at her school as pointed out by Cynthia (2004). She became an orator and won a prize because of the role she took which enabled her to win a scholarship of $1000 in College (Dow and Noce, 2002). This was after she delivered a short speech to club members in Philadelphia. She was also the first black woman in the United States to receive Miss Fire Prevention title in Nashville. In college, she studied speech communication and theatre and graduated in 1976 from Tennessee University (Cynthia, 2004). Her endeavour to pursue broadcasting in college strengthened her career as she remained focused on the industry.

Agnes, on the other hand, received a calling when she was still young when she decided to take care of the poor in the community. This is mostly associated with her Catholic family, especially her mother who is described as a pious and compassionate woman (Hitchens, 2012). She instilled commitment as well as charity in her daughter. Agnes attended a convent-primary school and later to a state-run school where she was interested in choirs singing as well serving in church occasions (Hitchens, 2012). At the age of 18, she clearly made up her decision to become a nun. She went to Ireland and in Dublin, she joined the Sisters of Loreto where she took the name Mother Teresa (Notablebiographies.com, 2017). As a result of her calling, Mother Teresa travelled to India where she taught students from poor backgrounds.

Commitment

Winfrey became popular and she committed her life to broadcasting where she won different awards because of her excellent presentations. She became induced into different broadcast industries and won various awards such as the Television Hall of Fame in 1994 (Dow and Noce, 2002). Oprah also received different gold medals such as IRTS Gold Medal Award as pointed out by Cynthia (2004). In her life, she has revolutionized talk shows in the market because of her unique as well as natural style (Cynthia, 2004). She has also been host to one of the most-watched shows which had more than 22 million viewers as asserted by Dow and Noce (2002). She has ventured into business, acting, as well as productions which have made her one of the richest African American women. Oprah is also the first African American woman to own a Television studio.

On the other hand, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to teaching the poor after which she received another call to care for the sick as well as poor people in the slums of Calcutta (Notablebiographies.com, 2017). While Winfrey focused on being seen by the public on television as well as making money in business, Mother Teresa was focussed on helping the less fortunate in a society far from her own. Winfrey established her own shows and a studio while Mother Teresa began open-air schools in slums. She also established a home for the dying destitute people after convincing the government to help her cause. She got recognized for establishing charity houses even in New York as asserted by Hitchens (2012). She has also received awards and recognition because of her missionaries of charity such as Jewel of India as well as the Soviet Union Medal by Soviet peace Committee (Notablebiographies.com, 2017).

Conclusion

Both Mother Teresa and Oprah Winfrey are known public figures in the whole world because of their work as well as influence on the people. The two women both took paths which have been marked as distinguished due to the commitment they put in their careers. Winfrey, though having an oppressive background was able to rise to the top of her career (Dow and Noce, 2002). Mother Teresa, on the other hand, devoted her life to assisting those who are not able in the society. They have both influenced members of the community and challenged them to do better. 

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References

Cynthia Rose. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2004. p447-451.

Hitchens, C. (2012). The missionary position: Mother Teresa in theory and practice. Hachette UK.

Notablebiographies.com. (2017). Mother Teresa Biography - life, family, children, story, school, old, information, born, time, year, sister. [online] Available at: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Mo-Ni/Mother-Teresa.html [Accessed 6 Dec. 2017].

Sheila Dow and Jaime E. Noce. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2002. p508-512.

Slavicek, L. C. (2007). Mother Teresa: Caring for the World’s Poor. Infobase Publishing.