It is pretty simple — my father figure is my dad. My father has shaped me to be the person I am today by introducing me to many interests, going out of his way to make sure my siblings and I had stable living conditions, and always being there to support me in everything I do. My father has shown me how important showing up is, but also how important sacrifice is. Throughout my life, I have participated in a variety of sports and activities, and my father would go out of his way to make sure he was at every game, performance, and event. I would even tell him to prioritize my siblings and that he did not need to be at every game, but he insisted. Every. Single. Time. Some days he would even take off of work to drive me to a game 2 hours away, take the weekend off to spend time with family, or a half day to drive me to appointments. His way of showing up sometimes relied on him sacrificing some sick days at work. He would use his days off for my family instead of for himself, and I think that shows just how much of a man he truly is. He would always put his family before himself. The past two years my dad has worked at my high school because it decreased our tuition by a lot, but our family still did not have sufficient money. So, he picked up another job on the weekends. He works at the school Monday through Thursday, and most days he does overtime and works approximately 12 hour shifts. Then Friday through Sunday he works at his other job, which are also 12 hour shifts. He works every day to be able to provide for my family. Since my parents put us in a college prep school, it was fairly expensive, so his work is not what he truly loves or wants to do, but it is what he has to do for my siblings and I. Lastly, he has helped me through and introduced me to so much. When I was younger, my dad and I started doing crafts and similar activities together. As a child, I struggled with handling and expressing my emotions, so my dad began taking me on car rides to discuss what was going on and doing crafts together so that I felt loved and appreciated. I remember we used felt to make an elf hat when I was younger, and I still wear it every Christmas season. Along with little crafts, I am my dad's right-hand man when it comes to fixing things. Whether he is working on his car, fixing our fridge, or just needs help putting something up, he always knows he can rely on me to help him out. I love learning about different things and how they work, especially cars or electronics with a lot of moving parts. My dad bought me my first tools and continues to spread his knowledge down to me which I am so grateful for. Whether he is providing for my education, allowing me to help him on projects, or teaching me about his favorite bands from the 80s, my dad is my father figure because he is always expanding my knowledge and teaching me essential life lessons and fun facts for trivia nights.