*This was my personal statement from high school that wrote during my senior year. I thought it would be something nice to share with everyone.

People are innocent until proven guilty, no matter the crime committed. I never challenged this idea, until it became a challenge in my own life. To begin this I am a reserved person. However, I am not reserved when it comes to challenging certain ideas or beliefs because a challenge is sometimes good. First, challenging ideas and beliefs allows for a person to be more knowledgeable about different subjects of interest or even subjects that are personally connected with them. Secondly, it allows for a person to define how someone thinks. Some may believe challenging ideas and beliefs will allow people to connect with others on different levels other than personal one. The popular podcast “Serial” challenged my beliefs and ideas about the innocent and guilty.

To begin this, the podcast featured the case of the jealous boyfriend killing the ex-girlfriend and burying her body in a park; a park in Baltimore, my home. Fact after fact throughout each of the twelve episodes, began to alter my beliefs about the boyfriend, Adnan. I wondered if he was innocent or guilty. Before hearing the case on “Serial,” I assumed it was the typical “ex-boyfriend killing his girlfriend after a breakup” story. My thoughts were that he became angry and upset about the breakup and this caused him to kill her. After hearing every detail of the case, my beliefs and ideas changed, because there was so much evidence presented to prove his guilt. On the other hand, there was a lot of evidence to also prove his innocence. Once I saw both sides of the case, it made me believe this case has been based off of evidence only to prove him guilty. This resulted in me having the idea that their wasn’t a voice for Adnan’s innocence and that he may be innocent in the doing of the murder. The case did leave me with this quote by Sarah Koenig, "Some people believe he's telling the truth. Many others don't."

Episode eleven was the one that ultimately changed my belief on innocent until proven guilty. But I was still left with questions and confusion at the end. This episode gave a complete psychological analysis of Adnan. This analysis went inside the mind of a then, 17-year old Adnan, and his capability of committing a crime that would then send him to jail for the rest of his life. What really struck me was the fact that the show provided evidence of how rage can consume a person and push them to commit a crime that they don't remember for a certain amount of time. This is where I questioned it: Was Adnan that angry at his ex-girlfriend that he had to murder her and then allowing him to not remember murdering her almost 15 years after the crime? This is where I was stuck between believing whether Adnan was innocent or guilty because he could have really committed murder.

After listening to "Serial" I have considered the true meaning behind innocence and guilt and I have come to the conclusion that innocence isn't just defined by the fact that one lacks evidence to prove someone's guilt, rather it comes down to psychologically understanding the motives and the person. "Serial" has given me even more insight about the criminology field of psychology. I want to study this field so I can use it professionally and personally. This podcast challenged my ideas and beliefs about innocence and guilt, which ultimately allowed me to see the world not just as we think but as something even greater and more complex. I'm ready for that challenge, and it's going to be something that I will never regret.