Invictus Reflection

1)    Invictus

a.     Nelson Mandela showed great leadership in his unification of South Africa among both white and black people. There were many steps that he took to achieve this final goal. The very first of which was the most impressive. After being locked away in jail for 25 years, Mandela came out having already forgave the men who had put him in there. He realized how vital it was to unite the people of South Africa and mend the disdain between races and social classes. The fact that he was able to overcome his lost and see past resentment to the greater good of the country shows that his basic morals are already that of one with the mind of a leader.

b.     The manner in which Mandela mended the hostility between races was also very impressive. Mandela used rugby to bring all the citizens of South Africa together. He was able to recognize that something as simple as a successful sports season would be able to incite feelings of national pride among citizens and bring them all together despite the social separations. Though he may have been looked down upon or warned against putting so much time and effort into something so frivolous as a sports tournament, Mandela persisted past other judgments and successfully achieved his goal with in the simplest and most effective manner.

2)    Personal

a.     Last spring I participated in Relay For Life as team captain. As team captain I was primarily in charge of organizing everything for my team and collecting the money. While most of my teammates were very corporative and easy to work with, some were lazier when it cam to fundraising for the event. So by the time we had to turn in money, not everyone had all his or her money set. Then I was faced with the dilemma of choosing to either kick them out of the team myself or let them sneak in without raising the proper amount. As much as Relay For Life is a fun sort of social event, it still does have an important and meaningful cause. In the end I told them that I couldn’t have them stay on my team because they didn’t raise enough.