1 RUNNING HEAD: Mandelas Influence on my Life.

Nelson Mandelas Influence on my Life.

Mandelas influence on my Life.

2 RUNNING HEAD: Mandelas Influence on my Life.

Nelson Mandela is a household name all over the world; he has made an influence in the lives of very name people on earth. Mandela is a South African who was born in the year 1918 and was the president of South Africa. He fought for the independence of South Africa for very many years. He was jailed many times in his life and his endurance spirit is told everywhere in the world. The twenty seven years that he was jailed is adequate prove that indeed he is a legend. He was able to reconcile South African communities to fight against the colonial rule and to fight against a common enemy; that is the British colonisers. He did this by being an open-minded person and listened to all parties in disputes. Mandela is also known for his oratory skills and most of his quotes are used in literature. ( Wikipedia, 2013) One important attribute that I have learnt from the story of Nelson Mandela is the virtue of perseverance. Mandela was able to endure more than 27 long years of imprisonment for the simple reason that he was championing for the grievances of his countrymen. This imperative as I have learnt that it is crucial to keep to ones point of view despite the challenges that one is going through in life. Mandela demonstrated to his people that the colonisers would one day give up power and that the country would be independent. His persistence in the fight against racism, apartheid and colonial rule is evident in his persistent call for South Africans to reject colonial rule. Even in prison, Mandela continued to inspire the people not to relent in their fight against the colonisers. (Limb,2008) Another important virtue that I learnt from the story of Mandela is that of the importance of education in an individuals life. Through education Mandela was able to achieve all the things that he was able to attain in his life. His education played a key role in ensuring that he recognized his own rights and those of his people. Through education, Mandela was able to meet with personalities from different diverse backgrounds and this was important for his

3 RUNNING HEAD: Mandelas Influence on my Life.

appreciation of the African fight for freedom. In his school life, Mandela nurtured his social skills which enabled him to interact with different social classes and people from diverse backgrounds. He was also able to nurture his debating skills while in school life and this enabled him to champion for the rights of his countrymen. One final attribute that I have achieved form the life of Nelson Mandela is the importance of communication and interpersonal skills. Through his good person skills Mandela was able to find a method of negotiating with the colonisers and together they looked for ways to end the apartheid menace in South Africa. He was able to tolerate people from other cultures and treated all the people the same. With this, he was able to convince the whites to surrender their rule and South Africa an independent state. (Pearson Education Limited, 2007) In my conclusion, the story of Nelson Mandela is very important for me as it has enabled me to develop very important virtues and life skills. The virtue of endurance is important because life is full of challenges hence it is crucial to have an enduring spirit. Education is also important in a persons life as it helps them have a wide scope of what life is all about. As seen in the story of Mandela, education can enables a person to appreciate the diversity of cultures and also know the essence of rights. Despite the fact that we all come from diverse cultures we are all the same. People skills are also crucial for one to communicate with people from distinct backgrounds. Therefore I would recommend that everyone should read the story of Nelson Mandela and learn something from it.

References

4 RUNNING HEAD: Mandelas Influence on my Life.

Limb P. (2008) Nelson Mandela: Biography Greenwood Biographies London. Pearson Education Limited (2007) Penguin Active Reading Teacher Support Programme. Teachers Notes, Level Two. Wikipedia (2013) Nelson Mandela retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela