Nooo-prah!

As you must have heard by now, the most influential woman of the past quarter century announced her resignation last week. That's right, I'm talking about Oprah. That woman is an institution. Oprah's been on TV nearly the whole time the Bitch, please betches have been alive. When she ends her show in 2011 after 25 years on the air, we will in fact be 25-years-old. This could be quite the quarterlife crisis.

Alright, alright. It's not that serious. But the loss of Oprah from network TV is equivalent to losing your fabulous, rich aunt who gives good advice and has awesome connections. This morning, annoying conservative Chicago shock jock Mancow commented that once Oprah leaves the air, "women everywhere will be able to think for themselves again." Haha, very funny. There was a time in high school when I felt all self-superior (imagine that) and thought that I was above all the Oprah hype. I thought that she was just a loud middle-aged woman with an amazing gift of persuasion.

Now that I'm older I have to give the woman props; she is a successful, powerful woman of color. She is a shrewd businesswoman. She's generous. And she's damn smart.

In a matter of years, she became the Empress of the Media. Everything she touches turns to gold. Granted, she's run into some issues with her schools in Africa. She's working on it though; we shouldn't expect perfection from her every time.

And sure, over the years her name dropping got really annoying. But after a quarter century of rolling with movers and shakers, who can blame her for telling stories about her personal life, even if these stories just so happen to mention a lot of famous people.

She still does some of the best interviews out there. With her 'girlfriend' style, she's someone who puts guests and audiences at ease. She was relatable. She went through some shit before she got famous. And she had her struggles with weight. She was human; she didn't look or sound like the other mono-tone afternoon TV personalities.

She's accomplished a lot over the years. After Sesame Street, I'd say the Oprah Show contributed the most to my educational development. She's gotten Americans to expand their minds and expand their frames of reference. Dare I say it, she makes us care about the issues she champions.

And think on this: without Oprah, the next generation of girls will grow up thinking that the ridiculous charade of a talk show that is the Tyra Banks Show is acceptable TV.