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This is my love letter to you. I want to leave you with lessons from my life.

So said Oprah Winfrey at the outset of her final show, which has already taped and already aired in many markets across the country.

A couple days after every star on the planet wished the talk show goddess farewell – and singers such as Beyonce and Jackie Evancho sang her into semi-retirement – Oprah took the stage alone for her last episode, using the platform to speak directly about her experiences over 25 years on the air.

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Opening the show with a Paul Simon song, Oprah kicked the emotional hour off with a clip from her first job in Chicago. She then went on to thank that city for embracing her and said she never once missed a taping because “this is what I was called to do.”

Fighting off tears at various points, Winfrey sent out the following message to all viewers:

 
“My greatest wish for all you… is that you carry whatever you are supposed to be doing and don’t waste any more time… You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself, and the energy you bring to others. Don’t wait for somebody else to save you, to complete you, to fix you.”

We’ll still be seeing plenty of Oprah, of course. With her talk show duties over, the CEO of OWN will dedicate a lot more time to the network that she recently admitted has not been meeting expectations.

Alas, no one is likely to get a free car out of that endeavor.

[Photo: WENN.com]