Inequality is the bane of a functioning society. How can a land thrive without everyone starting on the same platform, with the same opportunities? How is it fair for someone to not be seen as equal simply because of their race or ethnicity? We are all equal under God, but why is this often forgotten? Because liberation theology has not been given proper attention. Liberation theology uses Christian ideology and its historical examples to uplift the oppressed. When you think of the Bible, the stories in it are characterized by struggle. Moses leading thousands out of Egypt, Joseph’s rise to power, Esther and her heroic acts that saved her people from genocide, and many more examples. Liberation technology has been employed in many countries, from South Africa to the United States, specifically the black American population. Even though many countries advocate for the separation of church and state, religion always finds a way to trickle in through the cracks, and that reflects what is important to the people. This is because God has always been there for the downtrodden and oppressed. Civil rights in the United States relied greatly on organized religion because the leaders knew its impact. Martin Luther King’s main influence was not other activists or political figures, but Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ was the driving force behind Martin Luther King’s nonviolent tactics and philosophy, saying “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel.” This quote is a perfect example of what comes first in people’s lives. Say that I am a lawyer, and you are a writer. Of course, we are proud of our careers, but religion (and sometimes lack thereof) shapes why we choose what want to be remembered for, and why we feel like what we do in our day-to-day lives is our purpose. I want to be a religious scholar because I have seen and read about how impactful religion is, and how destructive it can be when misappropriated and exploited. Liberation theology is only featured in Christianity, but can this idea be formed to serve other Abrahamic religions? I believe it can be. In my studies, I can use the opportunity I have been given to learn to form ideas that can help people around the world who believe and yearn to be believed themselves. Liberation theology has such a long history because religion was created to make us stronger, to be part of something greater than ourselves! Liberation theology proves that we all benefit from the conscious choice to be better through religion. Piety can not exist without freedom for everyone, and liberation cannot exist unless we treat each other as if we are all equal under God.

\When I first started to write, I refused to do short stories. I wrote poetry because it felt right, and because I could write a poem quickly and edit later. Short stories didn't feel like that. I would toil away and still have half a page double-spaced. I also felt like I could never get anything perfect if it was a line of dialogue instead of a stanza. The problem was that I had a restrictive view of what I thought short stories had to be. Plays are what helped me allow myself to evolve as a writer. Whenever one of my friends asks for a literary recommendation, I take the opportunity to recommend Sarah Kane's plays, particularly "Blasted." When I read "Blasted" by Sarah Kane for the first time, I didn't only focus on the shocking subject matter, but the way Kane was able to weave a heart-wrenching story together with so few pages compared to a book. But by the end, the story was put together perfectly, leaving me with a feeling of completeness, even though the characters did not receive pleasant feats. Sarah Kane also has the ability to show and tell, not sacrificing one device for the other. When violent things happen in her plays, she shows, which allows the reader to revel in imagery. She also tells, which gives the reader clarity, and that is important when reading anything from the back of a cereal box to an award-winning novel. I was surprised that it was a play that opened my mind to write a short story. The first short story I finished that I was actually proud of was 682 words, around three pages. I showed all my friends, and my coworkers, that I worked on my school's literary magazine with. Anyone that was willing to read, I would show them what I had achieved. It was not just the fact that I had left my comfort zone and reaped the rewards, but that I felt the same sense of pride that I did after writing poetry. Long was the feeling of dejection I had from attempting to write something longer than I was used to, but a restored feeling of determination to keep experimenting with my writing. The goal I have set for my writing is not just to write a short story, a novella, or even a full-length novel. The goal I have set for myself is to create works that I dared to write. To not be nervous about the fact that no draft is perfect. I have realized that longer works take time because they are longer, and that is a good thing. A story that you take real time to write will affect more people positively if published. I know when a writer has dedicated their time to hone their craft and write something meaningful-- these are the stories that have stood the test of time and remained admired by many. The goal I have set for myself is to be a writer that will not only be remembered for their works, but their dedication.

The simple put answer is that it is important to help others because we are human beings. There is no other species in this world that can understand us the way we can understand each other, and that is the reason we have been for and against different types of humans throughout history. We are so complex but so simple that we have invented all sorts of ways to not only bond, but have arbitrary reasons not to. But there are also the more intimate bonds that do not always make the history books, like help within families and other personal relationships. My younger brothers are the dearest people in my life. My brother closest to me in age, Cheta, has special needs (autism) and I have helped him with his day-to-day life for years. I pack his lunch for school, walk him to the bus, help him brush his teeth, prepare for bed, change in and out of his clothes, put on the TV, and so much more. It has conflicted with my own personal, academic, and extracurricular schedule several times. I will be very honest, at first I didn't feel great about it. I felt like I was fighting a losing battle because Cheta was not "getting better" or "improving" in the ways I thought he should be. When I was younger I thought because he was nonverbal or hyperactive that we could never understand each other on a deeper level. Oh how I was wrong. One night I was cleaning the kitchen, and I had accidentally spilled water on the table. I had had an awful day and I just wanted to finish cleaning and go to bed, but just my luck, something had to interrupt my flow state. Cheta got up, took some paper towels, and cleaned the huge amount of water off the kitchen table so meticulously and diligently. He got the water that trickled down to the floor, and got extra paper towels to make sure the surface was completely dry. For extra context, Cheta absolutely hates getting wet (when we go to the beach or the pool, he takes a long time to get in the water). When he was finished, he noticed my shocked face, gave me a little nod, and ran off to bed. It is important to help others because they will never forget that you helped them. If a stranger can remember your kindness for years, why wouldn't a relative or a friend? Cheta, my dearest brother, was always aware of what I did for him every day. I am left amazed by that evening whenever I think about it.

Ironically enough, it can be easy for people around the world to remember that we can share similar values and experiences, even with the internet chronicling the daily lives of billions of human beings. Social media does a great job of connecting us with others. So do books, which have existed long before social media platforms. I read the book "Persepolis" when I was ten years old. The autobiographical story of a girl living during the Iranian Revolution was something that really intrigued me. But since I was a child, it was not the descriptions of war and violence that initially intrigued me. It was instead how Marjane was ten years old like me, and did things that I did. We both loved to read, play with our friends, and talk to God. But I also learned from her story. I read about how the war in her country destroyed families and how it was basically impossible to be yourself under the imposing regime. When she moved to Europe to escape the war in Iran, she described her feelings of depression, which I related it when I reread it during my teenage years. Every time I read "Persepolis," I feel a different emotion. When I was a young child, I was content that I found a character I relate to, and when I got older I felt sympathy toward Marjane's trauma because I was able to understand it better. My most recent "Perspolis" reread concluded earlier this year. What I learned this time was that I should share the story with another person, which resulted in me lending my copy to my friend Nadia. This was the greatest lesson I had learned: by sharing what you learn, you give people the gift of perspective, which in turn gives them a better understanding of different people. I think everyone should read "Persepolis" because it is a stepping stone to the lifelong feeling of sympathy and respect that we should possess for each other, no matter where we come from.

You cannot have faith in yourself without having faith in mankind. Many characters go through life thinking that they are superior to other human beings when they are not. They have lost all hope in the people around them, and this in turn, makes them lose faith in their own future. One book in particular shows this truth-- "The Rules of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis. The story follows the college students Sean, Paul, Lauren, and Victor as their lives intertwine with each other. The book has very hedonistic characters who stop at nothing to feel empty pleasures such as meaningless sex and drugs. Many of the characters struggle to find and maintain human connections, and when they do, it blows up in their faces. Sean, for example, is in love with Lauren (or at least he thinks he is) but he does not know how to express it. When he has sex with Lauren's roommate Lara, he says that was imagining that Lara was actually Lauren the entire time. He doesn't know how sick and twisted that sounds, and when he is saying this to Lauren, he thinks that it is a genuine apology that she should accept. But she does not. Paul, a bisexual man on campus who is infatuated with Sean goes out of his way to spend time with him, even though Sean doesn't know anything about him, and does not care to. Paul goes out of his way throughout the novel to impress Sean and be there for him in all the ways he knows how; supplying drugs, offering his body to him, and buying him food. But by the end of the story, when Paul tells Sean how he feels, Sean responds dejectedly, responding to Paul's confession with contempt for the person who was always there for him. Victor spends his fall semester in Europe, where he spends more time with foreign women than he does studying. Victor never talks about his schoolwork throughout the entirety of his narrative. Victor's story switches from trying to sleep with underage girls to tripping on acid for an entire monologue, and all the audience learns from this is that Victor is a terrible person. These people in Bret Easton Ellis' book serve as great characters, but awful people. This book in particular has inspired me to explore the art of character-building in literature. The cautionary tale in modern literature has been overlooked as a tool to make people more sympathetic towards themselves. When I read this book for the first time, I realized that I was not as "bad" or "terrible" as I thought I was. I realized that I was doing pretty okay. These stories are important for young people to read, and more important for them to write. The stories of the youth have never been more important. I want to write as many books, poems, short stories and plays about what people my age are worrying about, what they are doing, and so on. This is important because they give us faith in ourselves. And that in turn, gives us faith to carry on, no matter what.

Books and films have taught me that loneliness and a lack of belonging are the real harbingers of doom in one's life. When someone feels like they cannot be honest with the people in their community, they often react in visceral, and sometimes fatal ways. An extreme example is Patrick Bateman in the book-turned-film American Psycho. Throughout the story, the reader can feel his emptiness as he flits from restaurant to dry cleaner to tailor. He is unsatisfied and finds a morsel of solace in murdering innocent people. What type of life is that? A more historically accurate example is Okonkwo in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. One of the most powerful leaders in his village, his success is hollow to him because it is derived from fear. Fear that he would be weak like his father and made to look like a fool amongst his people. He ends up killing his adopted son with his own hands because, in his twisted mind, he believes that he has no choice. He would do anything to not be like his father. This novel showcases a different kind of community from the protagonist of American Psycho. Patrick Bateman's community is via his workplace, and the status of his parents who enable him to live a financially comfortable lifestyle, while Okonkwo's community mainly is through his blood, his lineage. As a religion major in college, I always find it interesting to look for links between different religions, especially Abrahamic religions. A lack of education has caused many people in the world to make assumptions about three religions that are very similar and worshipped by vibrant people like you and I. I remember earlier this year Easter, Passover, and Ramadan were all occurring on the same day. I was with my friends who were Jewish and Muslim, and we just smiled at each other in camaraderie. This is the life humans are supposed to live-- one in harmony! With my studies in religion, I research how Abrahamic religions affect public life while looking at sacred texts to see how they have evolved in our modern world. I aspire to get a Ph.D. in religion because I believe that the dedication a doctorate requires would truly enable me to speak without harmful bias, and without ignorance, which is something all professors should do. Religion is a delicate subject, and that is a good thing, because approaching the subject with an open heart and open mind helps us be better global citizens. My goal is to have the honor to teach people that it is a necessity as a human being to do just that. For example, even if one is a Muslim, and someone else is a Christian, they can still have a sense of belonging with each other if they learn to understand and abandon the harmful stereotypes and twisted beliefs about the other. Loneliness and hatred will be eradicated this way. This is done through the power of higher education; through people like me making an effort to read and write voraciously, and put it out into the world.