My dad is currently in jail awaiting a prison sentence for first-degree reckless homicide. In his case, it was because he was delivering heroin to his friend who then overdosed on the drug while my dad was also high off the same drugs. My dad has been struggling with addiction and substance abuse for as long as I can remember. In this essay, I would like to explain how my dad's actions have affected me directly and how I'm going to make an impact on others in the future. My parents split when I was around three years old. I wasn’t seeing my dad much and the reason was he was getting more and more into drugs. I would see him less and less until eventually, he became just another absent father. Before he was arrested I hadn’t seen him in about three years and I had no idea where he was. When you are little, having an absent father due to addiction can mess with your head. His not being there for me has resulted in me developing anxiety, depression, and abandonment issues. For years I suffered with self harm and didn’t feel like talking to someone would help me. I almost got to the point where I didn’t want to wake up anymore. But when it got that bad I just thought about how I could choose a career path where I can help others that feel like this and show them that talking to someone could mean the world. To make sure this doesn’t happen to other kids I am pursuing a career in Pediatric Psychiatry. After getting through college I want to get out into the world and help kids that are struggling the way I was. I want to make a difference in these kids' lives and I plan to do that through psychiatry. I want these kids to know there are people out there who care about them so that it doesn’t get to the point where they just want to end it. If you nominate me for this scholarship I will be able to pay for my education to get out there and support these kids. The U.S. Census Bureau explained that kids with absent fathers are twice as likely to commit suicide than kids from two-parent homes. I want to be able to help any kid that is struggling with any mental illness as I did. With this scholarship, I will be able to pay for some of my education pushing me closer to helping these kids.