Sources used in this document:

While incarcerated, he made further and considerable progress in promoting his cause. For me, it seemed that Mandela had more impact being compared to when he was still a free man. Inside the prison, Mandela managed to survive the harsh conditions of the prison, and also wrote (in secret) his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom." Outside, South African society is rapidly changing with the continued mobilization and protest against black oppression and mainly, apartheid.

A empathize with Mandela's experiences as a prisoner because I had also been incarcerated for a considerably long time. Having your freedom 'snatched' away from you unwillingly was perhaps the most threatening and inhumane act a man can do to another. However, I realized that one's freedom is not defined by one's mobility and ability to do some things. Like Mandela, prison time has given me the chance to reflect and focus more on my purpose in life. Instead of letting the prison 'imprison,' I let it "free" me by improving myself socially and intellectually. While Mandela successfully finished his autobiography in prison, I successfully finished college with honors (Salutatorian) and with a GPA of 3.95.

Being imprisoned allowed me to look at life in a different perspective. I have become more grateful of the life I was given, and I have shown and continuously show this gratefulness by improving myself as an individual (mentally and physically) and how I relate and constantly interact to other people. Mandela embodies this important realization that every reforming prisoner had at one point in their lives. Upon his release in prison, he became ANC's new leader, and as its new leader, he skillfully managed to reconcile the escalating conflict between the blacks and whites in the country, particularly on the transfer of power from the white South Africans to black South Africans. His skillful engagement of both parties, and resolving differences between the two groups, enabled him to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 (with then President F.W. de Klerk). In its first multiracial elections, Mandela became the president of South Africa, proving himself the bastion of