Growing up with a parent who struggles with addiction has affected every aspect of my life. My mom and dad got divorced when I was only 3 years old because of my dad's drinking problems and anger issues. This left my mom as a single parent, having to raise both me and my brother without any financial support from our dads. After the divorce, my father turned to weed and cocaine, which eventually led to harder drugs as time went on. I guess he thought this would solve his problems and make him happier, but in reality, it just drug him away from his only child.  I didn't understand why my dad would want to do these things when I was younger. The first time he was in rehab was when I was only 7 years old. My great-grandmother and aunt would take me to see him often and see how he was doing. He continued to be in and out of rehab until I was almost 13 years old. We had planned to go out to eat for my 13th birthday, but as I sat on my couch in my pretty dress and hair put up waiting for him, I slowly realized what was happening. The clock hit 10 p.m., and my mom said it was time to go to bed, but I just couldn't believe that my own dad would blow me off like that. At 1 a.m. that morning, I found out he had been arrested for enormous amounts of meth in his center console. That day was the day that I finally accepted that we would never be able to have a normal father-daughter relationship. He had chosen drugs over me too many times to count in my lifetime, and I couldn't let him continue to do so.  I believe the relationship with my dad is what has caused me to develop my mental health issues. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression at 12 years old. Of course, anyone who loses their dad, whether physically or just mentally, will be upset. But the trauma that I experienced watching him do drugs from a very young age has scarred me for life. I don't hate him for his struggles with addiction, but I will always wish that it wasn't the case. If he can overcome this addiction someday and form a relationship with me, I would be overjoyed, but until then, my goal is to help other children who are struggling with the pain of having an addicted parent.  I think when my dad got arrested that night, I finally knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I wanted to help anyone that I could to get through this pain. I want to help the parents who are struggling with addiction and want to get better for their kids. I want to help the kids that are hurt by their parents actions and just want to understand why their parents would do this to them and to theirselves. I want to help the teenagers who have wandered into the wrong crowd and ventured into the life of drugs, not knowing just how bad it can get. I have experience in all of these aspects and hope to use my experience to help others who have felt the same as me.