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Media Credit: acc-tv.com Oprah Gives Big Sundays on ABC

If anyone has watched ABC's new primetime series "Oprah's Big Give" on Sundays, no one can deny being touched in one way or another by it. Speaking as a big Oprah Winfrey fan ever since I could talk, I have learned many valuable life lessons watching her talk show. She has even been one of my biggest inspirations for taking up my Journalism major. So I pretty much do everything Oprah tells me to do anyway. But above all her lessons, she has now inspired me to think about my own capacity for selflessness.

Oprah's Big Give promotes the new bold idea of "giving" rather than "getting." And in the end, there's only one rule for the competition: "You either give big, or you go home!" In this intense competition, a diverse group of ten people are given the challenge to change the lives of complete strangers in the most creative ways possible by giving. Contestants are eliminated one by one according to their performances. Who will be the lucky few to get a "Big Give"… and who which giver will get that $1,000,000 prize?

There are four super contestants left. Brandi, 23, a pageant queen from Chicago, IL; Rachael, 31, a singer and actress from Los Angeles, CA; Stephen, 43, a real estate developer from Bedford, NY; and Cameron, 22, an entrepreneur and dot-com millionaire from Roanoke, VA.

One of Brandi's creative giveaways was stopping at a van that was selling flowers, buying all the flowers left from the owner, and giving them away free to random strangers on the street, in their cars, and on public city buses. This was actually my favorite stunt because it just showed how much a little flower and a smile can do to brighten up someone's day.

Another one of my favorite generous acts was one of Cameron's. He was assigned to spend a day with a toll-booth employee. He then visited her home and gave away over $1,000 to the employee and her two daughters who have been struggling with miscarriages for years. Cameron had $69 left over, and decided to pass by a toll and asked the attendant to pay for the next 69 customers following him in line. That is another example of how giving can go a long way.

I hope everyone will see this series every Sunday at 9 p.m. on ABC. It's fun, heart-warming, and inspiring. It puts me off to a generous start each week, and I know it'll do the same for you.

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