I wanted to be a great white hunter, a prospector for gold, or a slave trader. But then, when I was eight, my parents sent me to a boarding school in South Africa. It was the equivalent of a British public school with cold showers, beatings and rotten food. But what it also had was a library full of books.

Summary

This quote speaks to the childhood aspirations of the individual, expressing his initial desire to pursue adventurous and morally questionable professions like being a hunter, prospector, or slave trader. However, the narrative takes a turn when the individual is sent to a boarding school in South Africa. Despite the harsh conditions of the school, what caught his attention and ultimately shaped his future was the presence of a library filled with books. This suggests that the access to education and knowledge provided at the school steered him towards a different path, diverting his ambitions towards intellectual pursuits.

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