My dad has had the biggest impact on my life, especially through the way he’s handled cancer. Watching someone you love go through something that hard changes you. It changes how you see life, and more than anything, it’s changed the way I think about strength. Even when things got really tough, my dad never let his illness become who he was. He kept going to school every day as a teacher and to the gym as the varsity basketball coach. He showed up for his students, his team, and our family, even when I knew he wasn’t feeling great. There were nights he’d come home clearly tired and hurting, but he still found the energy to ask how my day was, or plan the next practice, or grade papers. That kind of strength, the quiet, steady kind, really stuck with me. He didn’t pretend everything was fine, and he never tried to hide how hard it was. But he also didn’t let the fear or pain take over. Seeing him find that balance, being honest without giving up, taught me more than any class ever could. It made me realize that being strong doesn’t always mean being tough. Sometimes it just means showing up when it would be easier to quit. Because of him, I look at things differently. I appreciate the little stuff more: a normal day, a laugh, a good conversation. I’m more willing to push through hard times instead of giving up, and I think more about how I spend my time. Watching him keep going when things were uncertain showed me how important it is to keep moving forward, even when life throws you off track. The way he’s handled everything has shaped how I approach school, my relationships, and how I try to lead. When I think about the kind of person I want to be in the future, whether that’s as a student, a teammate, or someday in a job, I think of the values my dad lives out every day: strength, humility, and putting others first. His example means more to me than I can really put into words. He’s shown me how to face the hard stuff with grace, how to keep going when things feel impossible, and how to care for other people even when you’re struggling yourself. I hope that wherever life takes me, I can carry that with me—and maybe even show others the same kind of strength he’s shown me.

My dad has had the biggest impact on my life, especially through the way he’s handled cancer. Watching someone you love go through something that hard changes you. It changes how you see life, and more than anything, it’s changed the way I think about strength. Even when things got really tough, my dad never let his illness become who he was. He kept going to school every day as a teacher and to the gym as the varsity basketball coach. He showed up for his students, his team, and our family, even when I knew he wasn’t feeling great. There were nights he’d come home clearly tired and hurting, but he still found the energy to ask how my day was, or plan the next practice, or grade papers. That kind of strength-the quiet, steady kind—really stuck with me. He didn’t pretend everything was fine, and he never tried to hide how hard it was. But he also didn’t let the fear or pain take over. Seeing him find that balance, being honest without giving up, taught me more than any class ever could. It made me realize that being strong doesn’t always mean being tough. Sometimes it just means showing up when it would be easier to quit. Because of him, I look at things differently. I appreciate the little stuff more than a normal day, a laugh, and a good conversation. I’m more willing to push through hard times instead of giving up, and I think more about how I spend my time. Watching him keep going when things were uncertain showed me how important it is to keep moving forward, even when life throws you off track. The way he’s handled everything has shaped how I approach school, my relationships, and how I try to lead. When I think about the kind of person I want to be in the future, whether that’s as a student, a teammate, or someday in a job, I think of the values my dad lives out every day: strength, humility, and putting others first. His example means more to me than I can really put into words. He’s shown me how to face the hard stuff with grace, how to keep going when things feel impossible, and how to care for other people even when you’re struggling yourself. I hope that wherever life takes me, I can carry that with me—and maybe even show others the same kind of strength he’s shown me.