Hello

My uncle was a US Marine who often came home occasionally because he was always deployed far from home. Whenever he came home from deployment, he would share some of his experiences with me. I admired his bravery and developed an interest in becoming a Marine. My Uncle encouraged me to follow my passion and introduced me to some of his colleagues who shared with me the good and tough side of being a Marine.

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My interaction with my father’s colleagues made me develop an interest in religion. I was brought up in a religious family but interacting with marines who had been deployed in dangerous zones and seeing the regard and disregard some of them had for religious beliefs gave me a broader perspective of religion. I began reading books about religion and listening to various biblical interpretations on the internet. When I joined the Marines, I began spending most of my free time discussing religion with my colleagues. I then enrolled to study religion and since then, I have been using my personal experiences and daily interactions with others to advance my religious beliefs and interpretations.

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My experience as a Marine has been exciting. I served in the Marine Corps for 12 years, from 2002 to 2014. During this period, I was deployed in Iraq 4 times. Serving in Iraq was one of my most challenging times. I interacted with locals, some of whom had no regard for human life. It was so devastating for me to see children suffering because people with power chose to meet their interests over the welfare of the poor. My experience in Iraq also strengthened my religious beliefs. I also developed an interest in the Muslim religion and the Arabic language. I started reviewing books and articles about the Muslim faith so that I could peacefully coexist with the Muslim locals I was working with.

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I aim to use my knowledge of religion to interpret different societal practices. I also aim to demonstrate the transition in the appreciation of religion and the modern depiction of religion in society and films to contribute to existing knowledge on religious practices and beliefs. I also aim to draw the connection between different faiths. For instance, I intend to write a research paper on the similarities and differences between Christian and Muslim religions based on existing literature and my interaction with Muslims in Iraq during my deployment.

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Apart from religion, I am also interested in learning new things in the business world. This motivates me to study various business-related courses. I gained a interest for business and accounting while in the military. I also intend to study the rituals practiced in different societies to determine whether they are connected to religious beliefs. I will use the knowledge gathered from the ANT 3241 Myth-Ritual-Mysticism course that I have already completed to interpret rituals and create a distinction between rituals and cultural practices. I intend to use my research findings to demonstrate how rituals influence the acceptance of religious beliefs. One of the things I hope to uncover from my research is how death rituals affect the religious interpretation of death and life after death. I also intend to use my research findings to eliminate misleading beliefs that could hinder religious practice and create awareness of inhumane rituals that should be considered unacceptable in society.