of her own background, her own experience, her own incisive mind, and empathetic spirit. thank you. i'm oprah winfrey and welcome to the very first national "oprah winfrey show"! [ cheers and applause ] donahue: i was surprised at the rocket pace that "oprah" took off because it took us a lot longer. the donahue show rearranged the furniture, but oprah remodeled the whole house. winfrey: there are a lot of other people who are watching who really don't understand what you mean when you say, well, you know, we're in love. because i remember questioning my gay friends saying, you mean, like, you feel about him the way i feel about... it's kind of a strange concept, you know, for a lot of people to accept. oprah was connecting with people in a way that no one had on tv before. and it was really special to see. well, did you know that for the longest time, i wanted to be a fourth grade teacher because of you? my, i was not aware of inspiring anyone.