Oprah, the OG influencer
Nearly every day of middle school, I would come home and make an afternoon snack and watch Oprah. It was ritualistic and something I looked forward to. I turned down hangouts with friends to instead spend time with Oprah. I was not alone – a lot of young women were tuning in to Oprah, maybe with their moms, or maybe just because it was the comforting environment which Oprah provided. We’d laugh and cry, Oprah and me. It is a part of my childhood for which I have some of the fondest and most vivid memories.
Every year, right around Thanksgiving, Oprah would do an episode where she would share her favorite things. Some of them were simple and practical, while others were lavish and divine. The most exciting part was that she would give each of the audience members the items. The audience would freak out in the best way possible. Watching at home, you felt like you were there. On at least one occasion that I remember, she gave every audience member a car. They went nuts. My mom and I sobbed uncontrollable happy tears.
In some ways, Oprah sharing her Favorite Things was my first exposure to what is now the ubiquitous influencer. I loved Oprah and therefore I loved everything she loved and wanted everything she loved. As an 11- to 14-year-old, most of the things were unattainable to me – she featured UGG boots and those were simply not in my babysitting-money-budget. Nonetheless, I coveted the things Oprah deemed her favorite and my teenage-girl Christmas wish list often had items the 50-something-year old considered worthy. Years after a season aired where she featured Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3 in New York City, I found it at a TJ Maxx and, of course, I had to try it.
When I think back to the episodes of Oprah’s Favorite Things, it feels heartwarming. Oprah only did her Favorite Things episode once a year and it was truly special. She wasn’t constantly bombarding us with things she loved. Although her favorite things were often very expensive and inaccessible to most, it was the connection you got from finding out what Oprah loved that made those items unique and desirable. The pure generosity and kindness of Oprah when she treated her guests to her favorite things took away any cringe of what might have felt like product advertisements. And, even though most years her favorite things were out of reach, she was mindful of hard economic times, adding to her appeal. In 2008, Oprah did a version of her favorite things that was “recession friendly”, and which featured things that were free or low-cost. In 2009, there was no Favorite Things episode, which, by speculation, was because of the ongoing recession. Oprah was tuned into her influence and her audience. She was, and remains, an influencer who cared about the impact she made.
Almost anywhere we turn now, people are showing us their “favorite things.” To sell us products, or influence us, most anyone with a social media following posts pictures of clothes, beauty products, supplements, and even home delivered meals they “love”. It’s everywhere and hard to tune out.
Back in my middle school days, influence seemed more discreet. Influence was left to very famous celebrities. It happened through magazines that we had to actively purchase or through advertisements on TV which, at least in my house, was usually muted while my mom made me help fold laundry until the programming returned. Now, influencers are everywhere – it is no longer only famous musicians, actors, or reality TV stars and we don’t have to seek it out – it’s all over each of our screens for hours a day, for free, and it’s by seemingly normal people.
With influence everywhere, it’s hard to decide what our favorite things are. No longer is it once a year that we watch Oprah’s Favorite Things, it’s daily that the hundreds of people on Instagram tell us about their favorite things and offer a discount code. Everything that was special about Oprah’s Favorite Things is missing from today’s influencers. When we are being constantly pelted with subtle advertisements, it’s easy to lose sight of what we actually want or care about. And most influencers are not sensitive to the common person’s budget.
When we buy everything being sold to us, we fail to tune in to our favorite things. Most of us have a limited amount of money to spend every month. Leaning into, and accepting that we have a budget, causes us to make choices that bring us the most joy and that are truly fulfilling to our life.
If you have trouble cutting out the constant onslaught of stuff being sold to you, think about living within your budget as a way to actually figure out what your favorite things are. Feel the same joy Oprah’s audience felt that one time a year when they found out that they were there for that show. Think of it as a way to really make choices that enhance your life based on your favorite things. I think you’ll find that you end up with your favorite life.