<p>Hey everyone, </p>
<p>So I'm new to this whole forum/thread thing but I figured I'll give it a try and see what happens!</p>
<p>Ok so I am applying to Pepperdine University in Malibu as an undergrad for the fall semester of 2013. This essay is the last part of my application that I need to do and then I am DONE! WooHoo! I don't know why but I've been struggling with this one so it is a bit iffy. I really appreciate who ever is going to read it but please please please give me your honest feedback and in general what you think about it! And a big THANK YOU in advance to all who happen to wander about this and give it a read(: I really do appreciate all input! </p>
<p>Oh and just a heads up, this is my very first draft so I do expect some harsh criticism haha(: </p>
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<p>Prompt:
Pepperdine University is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. How are you prepared to contribute to Pepperdine's mission and community of faith, learning, and service?
(500 words or less)</p>
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<p>I come from a family who has ventured down the road less traveled: single mom at the helm, unemployed; 4 brothers; 1 deceased. Weve regrouped, asked God for direction when things seemed lost. By simply making time for reflection however, my family and I have survived divorce, moved from home to home, and laid to rest the most perfect soul ever created; my brother, Nicholas. We are definitely not your average family, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The experiences and challenges Ive endured through my short seventeen years of life have only prepared me for what is yet to come. I feel sincerely blessed at times to have had the opportunities to walk the path Ive walked, as I've walked it with God. I find myself today, looking down at the shoes that have cushioned me through my journey, I feel proud, enlightened even.</p>
<p>On May 17, 1995, I put them on for the first time. Being welcomed into a family of crazy laughs, cheerful cries and joyous screams, I was home. As a child, my family and I spent many Sundays going to church. Growing up with an older brother who had severe disabilities however, our priorities had shifted. I welcomed nurses and support staff into my life, as I learned to help my mother care for him. I never understood why strangers would stare as we walked through the mall or why people approached him with such caution. To me, his abnormalities were invisible, as I had grown accustom to his differences. I simply looked past what held him back, and focused on what helped him shine. </p>
<p>When his health began to deteriorate, I watched with impressionable eyes as my family began to fall apart. Throughout all of this, I quickly became aware that although we had drifted from a church structure, we never drifted from our faith. When our lives felt cluttered with obstacles that seemed insurmountable, my mother would remind me how to give my worries and fears to God, who was capable of sorting through our mess and making a way for us to move on. I know that God has a plan for me and that if I remain true to myself and continue to hear him, then I will succeed. It was at that moment when God joined me as I continued on my path. </p>
<p>My shoes, now weathered and torn, still continue to cushion my every step. Growing up with my family, living, seeing and observing the things that I have been exposed to have equipped me with a sense of readiness. I have determined my priorities and aspirations through Gods guidance and interpretation and I am prepared. My shoes are proof, they show not only where I have been, where I come from, but also what I have learned and where I am heading. At Pepperdine University, I am more ready then ever to hand off my shoes, allow others to grow from my experiences and inspire them to create their own. I am excited, anxious, mindful and ready to put on a new pair, head down a new path, continuing to grow as an individual in the hands of God. </p>
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<p>Thank you again!!</p>