It’s almost the end of an era as Oprah counts down to the final episode of her iconic daytime show. So this month the media mogul reflected on her amazing 25-year run in the June 2011 issue of her magazine.

The celebratory issue has two covers: a flashback picture of Oprah during her first episode in 1986 and an updated version with a huge “Thank You!” headline splashed across the front.  

In the opening feature, Oprah looked back on some of her milestones with the help of her best friend, Gayle King. Would you believe there were days she was the one going for the lunch run? Take a look at some of her memories:

On the early days:  
“The first few years when the staff was still less than 12 people, I used to hang out with them because we were doing live shows, and we’d be done by 10 p.m. We had four people in four chairs, and that was it. Those were the days where I’d be the one taking the lunch order. I would walk around asking, ‘Okay, is it gonna be Taco Bell today, or are we doing Wendy’s?’ And then we’d go out and party at night.”

On the show’s healing power:
“I don’t regret having talked about my life. The show has been my therapy…I’ve never had a day’s therapy, but I’ve had many days of listening to really excellent therapists, starting with Dr. Phil, who is beyond excellent at what he does.”

On saying goodbye:
“I genuinely feel appreciated and loved by this audience that has grown up with me. Which, for me, is a huge, huge, huge accomplishment. Because I grew up feeling the opposite of that. Feeling a void, as a little girl, feeling that really nobody loved me. So to be surrounded by this, that is what I’m going to feel. And when you see the tears on the last show, that’s what those tears will be about. Those tears will not be about sadness.”

The complete story is in the June issue of O, on newsstands May 17, but in the meantime, Oprah will be able to take walks down memory lane on her own street! Today, to celebrate her impact, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley stopped by Oprah’s Harpo Studios and renamed the street that runs outside “Oprah Winfrey Way.”

The final episode of Oprah’s iconic show will air May 25.

(Photo: Oprah, June 2011)