By the time I reached the sixth form at my local grammar school, my father would glower at me every time I passed him with a stack of books under my arm, warning me there was no money to go to university.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was sent to a school because my father was already aware that his days were numbered, and he was anxious for me to acquire a good education and follow in his footsteps.
My father paid for my education; then he made it clear that I was on my own.
When I was 13, I won a scholarship to boarding school. My parents let me choose whether to go, and I decided I wanted to. Afterwards, I went to Cambridge to study law - in a way, I was carrying the academic hopes of my family, as Mum and Dad left school at 14.
My dad wanted me to go down a more academic route. He is very much about sticking to the rule book and sticking to the blueprint of a successful career.
My father would not pay for me to study anything but engineering or math in college.
I started school in public housing. My dad had a sixth-grade education.
I was head of the Sixth Form Centre when I left the school.
My dad always taught me if I have my education, anything is possible.
Even after I'd published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.
My dad, in particular, was adamant that I should finish my education. He encouraged me to go to Oxford, for instance, and I rather doubt I'd have gone if he hadn't. I would have gone straight back to L.A. and tried to start my career.