Growing up, my dad was in and out of jail, and for the first time in February of 2020, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Having an incarcerated father was all I ever knew, but every time I found out my dad was arrested, it felt like a new wound had formed, after the previous wounds had begun to heal. Life has always consisted of eagerly waiting for my dad to call from jail, and now prison. My dad has been in jail for some of the most celebratory occasions, my brother's kindergarten graduation, my National Honor Society induction, my sixteenth birthday, and countless Christmases, Thanksgivings, and New Years. But one thing that my dad will miss, that hasn't happened yet, is my high school graduation in May 2022. Having my father in and out of jail as a young child, all I knew was instability. When my dad wouldn't come home, my brother and I would assume that he was arrested. Once we were used to my dad being home, and having a two parent household, that's when he would be arrested again. It had gotten to a point where we would just wait for him to be arrested again, because we knew it was bound to happen. Now that I have gotten older (16), and I understand why my dad had been previously arrested, and was sent to prison on drug charges, I want to become a psychologist to help recovering addicts. I want to help my clients overcome their problems with addiction, and have them address why they began to do drugs in the first place. I also want to become an advocate for prison reform. If addicts keep getting arrested because of drugs, but are never sent to rehab, how are they supposed to overcome their addiction? If prisoners are arrested, serve their time, then are thrown out with no resources after their time is up, it will just be a never ending cycle of being in and out of jail. If my dad was never incarcerated, I would never know how incarceration affects families. Although I have no control over the past, I do have control on how I can let the curve balls life has thrown me affect me now. I won't long on how my dad's arrests have impacted me, instead I'll become an advocate for people like him.