I had never heard of ALS until one morning when my dad came back from his annual health checkup saying his doctor noticed twitching in his arms. After numerous tests and appointments over several months, he was officially diagnosed with limb-onset ALS in 2018. He lived with ALS for three more years until passing away in early 2021, during COVID-19. I watched my dad as he gradually lost the ability to walk, speak, and breathe and become less and less himself. I would watch him in his wheelchair using his eye-gaze computer all day, wishing he could just get better and go back to the active, goofy dad I always knew. Yet, he maintained a good attitude and did his best to participate in any clinical trial he could, while also accepting the fact that he would most likely die and had peace with himself. My dad was the primary source of income in our family and worked diligently as an ESL teacher at a public elementary school. After his diagnosis, he was forced to retire immediately and my mom, brother, and I became primary caregivers as we took care of him at home. Due to this, no one in my household was working for the three years my dad was sick. We faced the costs of renovating our home to make it wheelchair accessible, countless medications, supplies, and appointments and simply providing for our everyday needs with no income. Hiring a caregiver was not in our budget. We took care of our dad twenty-four-seven with no breaks, and I remember trying not to cry at night trying to finish my mounds of homework while listening to make sure my dad wouldn't start choking while sleeping. I couldn't even imagine how my brother who was 8 years old at the time felt, or my mom who had to watch her husband die a slow death. This scholarship would affect my career plan greatly. Cultivating in me a love of other people and cultures, my dad was the biggest inspiration for my career aspirations. I also wanted to participate in international studies and help make a difference in the world just like he did while teaching English to kids. This scholarship would be essential in helping me afford my tuition, without having to burden my family's financial status and taking away any opportunities for my mom and brother due to my own expenses. Scholarships are currently the main thing I am relying on to help me pay for college. This scholarship would help me make my dad proud so I may pursue a career to help change the world for the better in his memory. Lastly, the question of how ALS has affected my life remains. ALS took away my beloved dad, who was the biggest mentor and inspiration in my life. He loved me, taught me, and supported me every step of the way but ALS took him from me early. However, ALS did not affect my family's resilience and integrity. In fact, it made me even stronger while also cultivating in me compassion and kindness. I did not allow ALS to take away my perseverance and instead allowed me to learn to advocate for other ALS patients, spread awareness, and support other people who suffer from this horrendous disease. ALS has made me grow as a person.