One night my dad began to feel very sick so he went to the clinic and the doctor told him that he had a common sickness. However, my dad didn't stop feeling ill, so my mom took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Obviously, my entire family was full of sadness and shock because that is the last news that we expected to hear. I was just in first grade, so I didn't understand everything that was going on. However, I knew that my dad was sick, and that scared me. My mom made sure that my two older brothers and I felt comforted and assured us everything was going to be alright. My dad began chemo and was an extremely positive man despite the sickness in his body. We had a very busy lifestyle and though my dad was sick he didn't let his illness define his day to day life. The most inspiring quality about my dad was his determination. He was a chief of air traffic control, basketball coach for my brother's team, bible study leader, the best husband, dad, son, friend, and mentor for many people. Even when he was not feeling well he showed up for our family and never pitied himself, when he had every right to. He was the most authentic definition of what it means to be a faithful leader. He lead others by example every single day by his inspiring joy for life. Throughout my dad's journey of cancer I grew more weary as I got older at the fear of losing one of the people who I love most in the world. I truly could not imagine the future of my life without my dad. I started to think about the milestones I would have in my life, that he might not make it to and that made me extremely scared. He went through many chemo treatments and two stem cell transplants throughout his battle of cancer. My dad taught me many lessons through his seven year journey with cancer. He taught me to appreciate each day and to have genuine joy for life. When I would see my dad sick it caused me to feel very heartbroken because I did not want to see one of my favorite people hurting. What I noticed though was that he never felt sorry for himself and saw the light in the darkest day. My dad always gave my family motivational talks on how to be the best versions of ourselves. He made me want to be a better person because though he was extremely sick, he had such a positive outlook on life. He taught me to never take a day for granted and instilled me with the confidence that I could do anything I put my mind to. Though I had to see my dad go through such an awful circumstance he changed my outlook on life and made me want to be the best version of myself. When I was in seventh grade my dad passed away,and I didn't know what to do without him. However, I truly leaned into my faith and encouraging family to get me through the grieving. I always think about how my dad would want me to be, which is to reach my goals and be excited to live my life, and that alone gets me through. My dad's cancer is the hardest situation I have ever endured in life, but he prepared me to take life day by day with a positive attitude.