“I'm Oprah Winfrey and welcome to the very first national Oprah Winfrey shoooooowww! Cheers!”

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With these words, Oprah embarked on a 25-year journey and took millions of viewers from around the world with her.

Now she recalls the prayers she said the night before that first show – it’s the same one she’ll say the night before her last.

“I will be praying to hold true to the covenant of my own calling, and to allow myself as I move forward to be in alignment with all that is God and all that is good,” she said.

Over the years, she’s made people’s wildest dreams come true, sent students to college and sold millions of books.

But it was her willingness to tackle the controversial or uncomfortable topics, from spousal abuse to molestation, that may shape her legacy.

Never one to hide her own emotions, it was also evident in September 2009 when she announced the 25th season would be the last.

What’s next after the final show? Oprah and staffers take a much-deserved break after making the 25th season one of their best.

“I started out the season saying let's land this plane the way it ought to be landed,” she said.