I want to help find the cure to Alzheimer's disease. I grew up as the youngest of eight and watched as all of my siblings grew up and lived the life I expected to have - I sat at the round table and watched my sister in her wedding dress, swaying with my dad, I imagined myself in her shoes doing the same one day. I thought I had my whole future planned, it was simple: graduate from high school and college, get married, have kids, and be successful. At this moment the rest of my life seemed predictable. I always assumed that the people I loved most would always be there, cheering me on. The ending to this seems obvious, something changed that I had not accounted for in my plans: my parents came home one day with tear-filled eyes and our worst fears were confirmed - my dad had Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 59. My plans faded, everything seemed uncertain. All of a sudden, my 14-year-old self, who once sat in the dentist’s chair and said “it’s okay, my dad can fix anything,” as the dental assistant complained about a broken drill, could no longer look to her father for assistance. I would no longer find comfort in knowing that he would always support me and be there every step I took. I thought life was so simple, you plan it, dream it, and live it. However, this diagnosis forced me to rethink how I saw the world and lived my life on a daily basis. We have all heard time and time again to embrace the present and not dwell on the past or the future. I now realize that hearing these words had not changed my tendencies, I still had expected a certain outcome and had allowed myself to be easily disheartened by anything other than. With this monumental change in my life, every action, every decision, every word in the present carried new weight. No longer could I spend my time dreaming about what may be, but instead, as I saw how unpredictable the future was and controllable the present, sought to find ways to spend my energy impacting change now. My dad passed away on October 9th, 2020 from and although this was the expected result, I was unprepared to lose him when the time came; no amount of planning could lessen the pain felt by the timing and way in which the disease took him. As I still continue to mourn his loss, I also have recognized that life continues, his and my own. I have learned that I can take the knowledge I gained from him, his strength and perseverance, and conquer my ambitions in honor and remembrance of him. Even more than that, I have realized that everything I wish to achieve depends on my ability to recognize the present moment and the decisions I make now. This event sparked in me a sense of new purpose as well; I am driven to ensure that no one else will have to forget their children, spouses, siblings, how to eat, how to drink, or even how to say “I love you” before they die. This is what inspired me to major in Neuroscience and hopefully minor in computer science because I believe there are solutions within both of these studies. In ten years, I will have written about my personal experiences with Alzheimer’s with the hope that I will help someone through their journey with the disease and give them hope that a cure is on the way.