Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC

Commented [AM1]: Try to awnser this more like what

specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (max 250 you’ll do when ur at usc
words)*

My mom had always warned me about the world. Over protective, I thought, until at the age of
eleven, I saw purple marks trailing up the arms of my friend. Something within me awoke. And it Commented [AM2]: Maybe change this sentences its
didn’t stop there. When I was thirteen, I watched a video of my mom’s friend speaking out against kinda confusing

sexual abuse and by the time I was seventeen, my friends had their own experiences. I always
felt helpless, because although I was never a victim, I also never had a solution. Commented [AM3]: Maybe like explain it more clearly
like as i grew up you saw more and more injustice

In 11th grade, I created an ethnography project on the trans population in Karachi. I conducted Commented [AM4]: Try to link it like you saw all this
interviews with trans peoples from various financial backgrounds and walks of life- from social injustice then you did this.

media influencers, to lawyers, to sex workers. During this project, I met with a doctor working for
the rights of intersex people in Pakistan. This short expedition to biological notations sparked a
curiosity within me to understand the true academia behind these factors.

Wanting to further understand the nuances of gender I interned with Aahung - an NGO which
focuses on sexual education for the youth of Pakistan in rural and underserved areas. Conducting
interviews at small community schools I heard about misinformed menstruation anecdotes and
about their guilt when they forgot their dupattas . Commented [AM5]: Maybe you say like what did this
to you
Aahung showed me just one spoonful of an entire bottle of a troubling mindset. My readings,
experiences, and interactions initiated a thirst for learning within me. For me, college will intertwine
a world of academia, understanding and community. Studying Women and Gender studies will
energize my drive to be an agent of change. I might not be able to change the world. But by
impacting people on a local level I can make ideas and attitudes I can make a difference to end
the helplessness felt by countless victims of sexual abuse. one statistic at a time. Commented [AM6]: This is a pretty good ending

306

USC faculty places an emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Describe something

outside of your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning max 250 words

The evening sky is brightly lit with strings of fairy lights that criss-cross above the open aired
playground we have converted into a mini-carnival for the day. Music plays to the beat of the
festivities - children swaying to Atif Aslam songs, and throwing bean bags through hoops.

Aano, one of the students tugs at my sleeve and points to a nearby table that is covered with
splashes of yellows and greens and glitter. “You want me to paint a butterfly on your face?”. She
nods vigorously. I ask her about her Eid plans, she looks up at me, eyes wide as she discusses
colorful envelopes, shiny bangles and henna tattoos. She asks me what my family does for Eid
and- I guess it was the stress, the one second too long pause on family that made me understand,
that made my heart break.
I had known on conceptual level that Pakistani culture often stigmatises mental health and
disabilities. But it is in this moment, looking at Aano, the butterfly fluttering on her cheek as she
makes faces in the mirror, that the fairy lights of my idealised view of world dim.

I need to know the extent of the ignorance that exists in our green and white nation. Before
leaving I speak to the nuns who run Dar ul Sakoon and discover more heartbreaking stories
including a mother who believed that her disabled baby was a punishment from God. Commented [AM7]: Delete this maybe same stigma
idea as before

I now feel driven to do my part in combating these archaic and heinous attitudes. Soon my
afternoons were spent at Sunflowers and Ujala, rehabilitation centers for disabled children, cutting
CDs, creating art projects, organising games and sometimes just dancing to music with the kids:
I had never been so happy. Despite the challenges they faced, these children were some of the
most loving people I have ever met.

I then sought out a more formal volunteering opportunity at Ujala, a non-profit school for students
from lower income backgrounds Whilst at ujala( you already said what it was before) where
children followed a more traditional ….. . As the children here followed a more traditional style
of schooling, I helped around with games, fitness drills and daily classwork. The rigid structurality Commented [AM8]: Maybe don’t say this to save word
of this particular internship required presentations every morning on Down Syndrome, Autism and
other mental disabilities which I found to be not only incredibly informing, but it also laid foundation
for my desire to eventually work in the social service sector.

I hope to divulge into the biological and psychological realms in association to educating myself
on learning disabilities, for example, learning about the links between synesthesia and autism.
Although this is not my intended area of academic study, I feel an immense responsibility simply
as a global citizen to be well versed and informed about the specially abled.

These experiences and expectations have created a foundation for my idealistic vision of the
future. One in which Pakistan can serve as a cauldron of syncretism, and the disabled community
can be recognized as more than a minority, they’re the real fairy lights - full of brightness, hope
and empathy. I am hopeful that one day soon more people in Pakistan will open their eyes and
see that. Commented [AM9]: Try it to make it one paragraph
and decrease the length
518

Describe yourself in three words. First Word:*

Curious

Second Word:*
compassionate

Third Word:*

Free spirited

What is your favorite snack?*

Flaming hot cheetos

Best movie of all time:*

The perks of being a wallflower

Dream job:*

activist

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?*

7 by catfish and the bottlemen

Dream trip:*

hogwarts

What TV show will you binge watch next? *

The mind; explained

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?*

Favorite book:*

the alchemist

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?*

How to channel feelings into expression