In 1990, we met 10-year-old Robert Jones.
He'd been visiting his grandmother
when he was caught in the crossfire of gang violence.
And a stray bullet left him blind in both eyes.
How have you adjusted, Robert, to being blind?
I feel real bad.
'Cause sometimes when I be waking up,
I really think I can see, 'cause I'll be asleep.
And it be dark when I sleep.
'Cause when I wake up, I think I'll
be able to see light and stuff.
And it made me afraid.
This may sound like a silly question to you.
But it's a thought that just occurred to me.
So forgive me if it's a stupid question, Robert.
But can you see in your dreams?
Yes.
So-- well, that's, at least, nice to know.
OPRAH WINFREY (VOICEOVER): We followed up with Robert
when he was 18 years old.
Hi, Oprah.
It's been eight years since we've seen each other.
And a lot has happened since then.
I learned a lot of things over the years.
And one of them is to read braille.
[PLAYING PIANO]
And another thing, Oprah, I learned was to play the piano.
This fall, I started my freshman year in college.
I believe if this didn't happen to me, living
in the environment I was living in at the time,
I would have been trapped in, like, gangs,
getting into certain drugs.
Never once did I feel like giving up.
Never once did he feel like giving up.
And he's here today. Robert, stand up.
Bravo.
Wow.
Well, you are an inspiration.
Do you still see in your dreams, Robert?
Oh, yes, I do.
It's very vivid.
And I love dreaming, because it reminds me of,
like, what my family members look like.
Robert graduated from Columbia College in 2003.
Today, he's living his dreams as a singer, as
a songwriter, and proud father of his 12-year-old daughter,
Cheyenne.
In 1998, we met Liberty Franklin, who, like Robert,
overcame enormous adversity.
Liberty Franklin Johnson is a typical teen
who adores softball, worries about homework,
and would just love to date a nice guy.
But she's also faced family challenges
that are anything but ordinary.
There's been drug problems, suicide, prostitution,
alcohol addictions.
OPRAH WINFREY (VOICEOVER): One of five children,
she was raised by a single mom in this crime-ridden Washington
housing project.
I had to confront my mom and tell
her to stop using drugs and alcohol,
because nobody else would.
Liberty said, Mom, you know, if you
can stop smoking and drinking, then I'll also
get my life on the right track.
And so together, we did it.
OPRAH WINFREY (VOICEOVER): Her mother, Joanne,
says she's been sober for three years thanks to Liberty.
But I had to stand up for everybody in my family
and hold them up and bring them through everything
that we were all going through.
OPRAH WINFREY (VOICEOVER): That same strength
spurs Liberty to reach for her own dream of going to college.
She has a 3.95 grade average, even
though for most of this year, she worked three part-time jobs
to help her family-- three.
You have to fight to quit.
You have to do whatever you have to to get where you want to be.
OPRAH WINFREY: Great story, Liberty.
How proud are you of yourself today, Liberty?
I fought the current, and I won.
OPRAH WINFREY: Yeah.
Liberty was one of 50 high school students chosen
to receive a $25,000 scholarship from our Angel
Network, which paid for her degree
from the University of Washington.
Today, Liberty is 35.
She has three children.
And she's a dentist who provides care
for underserved communities like the one in which she grew up.
Bravo to you, Liberty.