What a wonderful mentor you have been for me on the subject of aging with grace and appreciation. Oprah: You know, this month in the magazine, we're talking about aging brilliantly. Oprah: To, first of all, see themselves differently. Oprah: You pave the way for other people. And so it behooves you to prepare yourself so you can pay for someone else yet to come. Your mother's mother, your father's father. Maya: You've been paid for by people who never even saw your face. Will you share that? What does it mean that we've already been paid for? Oprah: That's one of my favorite lessons you taught me. I thank God I'm myself and for the life I'm given to live and for friends and lovers and beloveds, and I thank God for knowing that all those people have already paid for me. When I was taken out of that room, I broke down. The truth is, if I had been asked to speak, I couldn't speak at that time. Of all those people who got off the slave ships in Jamestown. I thought of all those people at Ellis Island. I thought of people coming from Ireland when the potato blight had absolutely wiped out their country. Mama know when you and the good Lord get ready, you're gonna be a teacher." I also thought of all the Africans who were brought to this country longing for freedom, coming on a nightmare and wishing for a dream. Maya: I thought of my grandma, who, when I stopped talking, said to me, "Sister, Mama don't care that these people say you must be an idiot because you can't talk. Oprah: What were you thinking when the president placed that medal around your neck? He said that your voice has "spoken to millions, including my mother, which is why my sister is named Maya." You know, I didn't know until that moment that his sister had been named after you. I want to talk about the moment in 2011 when President Obama presented you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom-the nation's highest civilian honor.
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