Intellectual-Political Autobiography, Essay Example

The family member who has most impacted my political-intellectual being would have to be my father. Born and raised in London, my father managed to travel the world in pursuit of his dreams. Whatever he envisioned for his life, he sought out with no regard for obstacles or limitations. At the age of 20, he left London, where he was an attending student of Oxford University, to start a career as a journalist in Johannesburg. While in Johannesburg, at the age of 21, my father had his first child. With some bylines under his belt, more confidence in his writing abilities, and a family to support, my father could have settled for the safe route and built a life in Johannesburg, but he had greater aspirations and instead set his sights on Hollywood. He moved to California to work in the film industry which eventually provided him with the experience and financial freedom to travel the world. He eventually returned to London and established a reputation for himself in the financial industry.

The main values of my father which I admire, specifically in respect to his experiences as a young man, are his fearlessness, self sufficiency, ingenuity and ambition, but he is also a man of high moral character. My father and mother both do extensive charity work in an attempt to give back and show thanks to the same communities that supported them before they became successful. I think the political-intellectual impact both my mother and father have embedded in me resulted in my belief in the power of free market capitalism combined with sound work ethic, but an even greater appreciation for the need to give back to society in a way that matters.  I can barely keep track of all my mother’s initiatives for charity. Whether she is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Teenage Cancer Trust, or teaching in schools in Nepal, she is always physically invested towards making real positive changes in the world.  In this respect, I am socially liberal and believe I have adopted my mother’s belief in a hands-on approach towards fighting disease and poverty in the world. I do believe the well-being of the have-nots is ‘in part’ the responsibility of those who have plenty.

The political figures and thinkers who have most influenced my world view would have to be Irish singer and political activist Sir Bob Geldof, Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York, and CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, as these were political figures to whom I had the most actual exposure. I have a very creative/visionary family; a scriptwriting elder brother, an artist for a sister, a mother who does professional interior design, and a father who has done journalism, film, TV, etc.  As the aforementioned political figures were friends of my family, they tended to frequent our dinner events, which made for lively and enlightening conversation.  These dinner events provided me with opportunities to debate on political topics, learn from respected thinkers, and better understand my own intellectual-political identity.

Religion

Growing up, my father traveled a lot for work and was rarely home. Despite this, I always had a very close relationship with him. In regards to religion, I identify myself with the Christianity and its teachings. Religion was a subject in school that drew my attention, partly because of my instructors, but most likely due to the importance Christianity has played in my household. After seeing how my mother and father dealt with conflict, largely because my father was not at home and left my mother to care for us, it inspired me to look closer at the teachings of The Bible and how it defines the roles of a man, wife and their family. While my parents influenced me greatly by showing how to be successful and humble, and through providing an intellectually stimulating and nourishing environment, in some ways I think they also showed how I can improve on their mistakes. I had a wonderful upbringing, but I don’t even know if I would have been aware my father and mother didn’t have the perfect marriage, if not for the teachings of Christianity. I also don’t believe I would have the confidence and strength to improve on the legacy of my parents if were not for my faith in Christianity. I attribute my self confidence and determination more to my religious beliefs than anything else.

Education

At the age of 12,  I attended an all girl boarding school. We were only allowed to wear dresses and very rarely allowed home. I found the school to be unnecessarily strict and sexist. I did enjoy the curriculum of English romance novels, like Pride and Prejudice, but for the most part the school was a housewife factory. I found the environment to be pretentious, fake, sexist, intellectually unchallenging and I ultimately left after three years. The bulk of what I would consider to be my real world education came from my mother, as we spent much time together while my father was on business trips, and Sarah Ferguson and Sir Bob Geldof.  My mother was always resentful towards my father over his frequent business trips. This led to her being verbally abusive towards me at times, but she is also the one who taught me kindness and the importance of goodwill towards others. I ended up working for HRH Sarah Ferguson and spending a lot of time with Sir Bob Geldof, which was a very enlightening experience in my life. Seeing so much poverty and pain in the world, I had always felt slightly victimized from my mothers abuse at home, but this completely opened my eyes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when I was 18 I moved to new york to attend NYU. This has been the most challenging time in my life thus far, battling illnesses, settling into a completely different environment. Initially, it was a complete culture shock. A complete step out of my comfort zone. Since arriving at NYU campus, I have learned a lot about myself. For the first time in my life, I view the world through my own eyes, and not as it’s framed by my parents. The ability to approach the world on my terms led me to the realization that I want to write my own scripts and do my own research, through which I feel I can be my own person. On second thought, maybe I am becoming more like my father than I think.