My personal statement to an American university

As a child and a young adult I witnessed acute religious extremism in my province

Baluchistan which resulted into the loss of many innocent lives. The point which
really ailed me was that why are we injecting fanatic ideas and creeds into a religion
for personal gains. Your son is a martyr! You must be very proud of him, said the
Moulvi to grief-stricken Akbar during the funeral of his son, Baran who had
committed suicide attack in Afghanistan. My childhood friend and classmate, BaraN
was a jolly guy with an ever-smiling face. He used to play cricket with me and had
many dreams about his future. His sudden disappearance and then the shocking
news of his death left lasting impression on my mind. Since that, I always wondered
and failed to trace out how and why my childhood friend became a suicide bomber.
Growing up in such a socio-political atmosphere, I developed strong curiosity
to understand the facts of what was going on in the name of religion in part of the
world . I considered education as the means to meet my goals because I believed
that it is through education alone that we can achieve what is both rational and
irrational. Despite unfavorable socio-economic circumstances and absence of good
education, I worked hard to pursue my education. My hard work eventually bore
fruits when I got admission in Government College Lahore and opted courses of
philosophy, political Science and history which deal directly with the state, society,
and the issues of my home province. Seeking answers to the questions that had
been haunting my mind since bARAN's death, I tried to the best of my potential to
explore all opportunities and avenues at Government College Lahore While I have
been unable to untie few of the knots of the mysterious world of knowledge, there is
plenty left that I have yet to understand.
Admission at Havaed College is another opportunity for me to broaden my
thoughts. Educational experience from the USA will on one hand help me grow as an
individual by interacting with people of different cultures and backgrounds; and on
the other hand, I will be able to recognize the problems of our educational setup.
Most importantly, it will let me have a look at my society from the vantage point of
the American people. I am also well acquainted with the political scenery of the
world which helps me to generate a comparative analysis of social and political
structures between Pakistan and other countries. I also have a good account in cocurricular activities. I have a thirst for community service and social work which is
scarce in my country. I was a volunteer in a social organization which worked as a
disaster risk management community.