I was eight years old when my dad died from liver failure due to alcoholism. At that age, I didn't understand addiction or grief, I only understood his absence. I remember Reel realizing that life would never feel the same again. Well other kids, my age were focused on playgrounds or school projects, I was learning how to process loss. His death forced me to grow up earlier than I should have, and it became the first moment that shaped who I am today. As I got older, I began to understand the complexity of addiction in the way impact not only the person suffering, but everyone around them. I experienced sadness, confusion, and anger, but I also developed something unexpected: empathy. I became more aware that people often carry invisible pain. This realization changed the way I saw others including myself. Instead of allowing my loss to become something that helped me back, I chose to let it motivate me. I became determined about a future to find no by what I lost, but by what I could become. Growing up without my dad also meant learning independence at a young age. As a balanced school, work, preparing for college, I often faced stress and uncertainty about my future. There were moments where everything felt overwhelming, but I learned how to keep moving forward. Working while pursuing my education taught me discipline, responsibility, and resilience. These challenges showed me that strength is not something you were born with, it is something you developed through adversity. My experiences are the reason I plan to pursue degree in psychology at Texas A&M. Losing my dad made me want to understand why people struggle on how they can be helped before it is too late. I want to become someone who helps others, navigate grief, addiction, an emotional hardship. I understand what it feels like to carry pain. The others cannot see, and I want to use that understanding to support people in the most difficult moments. Higher education will give me the knowledge and skills necessary to turn my experiences into something meaningful. It will allow me to build a career where I can help others heal, grow, and find stability. Receiving the scholarship would not only ease the financial burden of college, but also bring me one step closer to achieving my goal of making a difference in people's lives day by day. Losing my dad was the hardest thing I'll ever have to experience, but it also gave me the purpose that I have today. Through his absence, it taught me resilience and determination. It shaped my strength, and that is that strength that drives me toward my future. I'm committed to using my education to help others, overcome the struggles, just as I learn to overcome my own.