From Nelson Mandela’s death last week, many things can be taken away. One person with enough drive should inspire us all to change the world.
With many brushes with trials and jail sentences, Mandela continued to fight to end the apartheid rule, finally winding up in jail for 27 years after being charged with sabotage in 1964 and released in 1990.
Mandela’s higher education, which tied directly to his achievements in ending the apartheid laws, were spent at different universities where he was involved in activism and protesting. No matter what happened to Mandela, he kept fighting to change the lives of not just the people in South Africa, but all around the world.
Even though nothing in my life amounts to what Mandela did in his life, what he did made me think about what I could do to change not only my own life, but others.
There are a couple of things I want to be involved in, but I haven’t taken the time to do so and there is so much out there I would like to do. From saving the enivronment to ensuring that there is a fighting chance for the future and the people who will inherit the Earth.
Could I do what Mandela did? I have no idea. But I do know I’m on the right path — my job as a journalist gives me the chance to make a difference in the world by sharing what people are doing and sharing what is important. My goal is to write about the various topics I care about and want other people to know about, even if they don’t care about it.
For most of his life, Mandela touched many lives by changing many different aspects of people’s lives through various means, from being a protestor to being the president— his touch was wide.
While the situation between our lives here and the life Mandela lived were so different, think about the ways he reached out and touched other lives. Can you do the same? Education is at the tip of your fingers; grasp it and don’t let go. That’s a place to start.
Strive to make a difference, even if it isn’t as radical or as widespread as Mandela’s was. Make it about what you believe in.
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