Nelson Mandela

How to write a blogpost on Mandela? It feels as though everything that could be written or said about him has been done so since his death on December 5th 2013, but I thought, on the day of his funeral, I would add my own voice to the ongoing tributes.

There is a lot of different ways I could approach this and a lot of different things I could say, but I will try to keep it as brief as possible.

I wasn't alive during Mandela's struggle to end the apartheid; he became South Africa's first democratically elected black president in the same year I was born (1994), so the majority of his life and his legend is history to me. This history is definitely something I would like to explore in more detail, maybe in a future blogpost; however I do not think this is the time for an in-depth analysis.

What I will say is that, for me, as for so many others, Mandela is a huge inspiration. I know I will never achieve the impact he had on the world in my own life, but his compassion and charm, his determination and willpower as well as, for me most importantly, his humility are qualities I want to develop in myself.

Although at first I was extremely saddened by the news, I'm glad, as has been demonstrated by his memorial service, his incredible life is being celebrated.

R.I.P Madiba- gone, but never forgotten. The man who inspired the world.

18th July 1918- 5th December 2013