Why I Chose Mandela

When Ms. Quillen told the class about the project and that we would be reading a biography of a person who could be considered a hero, I started to think about whom I wanted to study. At first, I considered reading about Laura Bush. I liked this idea, but I did not think that I would be able to stay interested in her for the entire semester. I feared that because she has not been a public figure for very long, there would not be enough material to discuss. When I thought about other possible subjects, I considered several twentieth century figures, and I decided on Nelson Mandela. He had all of the qualities that I thought a hero should exemplify. He was politically active for many decades, so I knew there would be plenty to talk about.