Sacrifice has been the backdrop of my entire life. When my parents left India in 1999, they carried nothing but two suitcases and a promise: to build a better life for their children. I did not fully understand that sacrifice until I saw their sleepless nights, their losses, and their determination to keep going. My father trusted his business to a close friend, only to lose most of his money. The betrayal was devastating. I grew up watching people who shared our blood steal what we worked so hard for. To rebuild from the bottom, my mother filed taxes at HR Block, went to UW for a degree, and worked multiple jobs, leaving little time with us. My father, after losing both money and family members, turned to bad habits to numb the pain. He battled liver cirrhosis, but even through that, he worked hard to provide for us. He never let his mistakes define him. Losing him at the start of my junior year forced me to persevere through the grief and work hard for my family.. My dad once said to me, “Be better than me.” Those words became my direction. For years, I came home and escaped reality through video games, playing for over 6-10 hours a day. Being bullied by other kids beat me down when I was younger. In 2020, I averaged 300 steps a day, and I realized that lifestyle wouldn’t help me achieve anything meaningful. I started my freshman year weighing 85 pounds. My arm was so thin that they gave me a flu shot in my leg. I wanted, for once, to finally feel good about myself from something that I genuinely had to work for. Realizing what I wanted isn’t gonna be handed to me like how my life has been. I spent hours learning about fitness and nutrition online. Five-pound dumbbells and a gallon of milk felt heavy at first, but what matters is how I climbed from rock bottom, where I was bullied, insecure, and dealing with self-doubt. I worked through the pain and kept going for years; now the people who used to bully me ask me for fitness advice. Fitness didn’t just build my body — it strengthened my mind. I learned how to be accountable and learn from my mistakes. No one is with you 24/7 except yourself. I understood what sacrifice looks like because I was living it in my own way: waking up early to lift, cooking meals when I wasn’t hungry, and forcing myself to eat for hours to put on mass when I never wanted to. I traded comfort for discomfort, and it changed me forever. There were nights during junior year when everything felt empty. I missed my dad more than I could ever say. I’d lift on days when my chest felt heavy, when I couldn’t explain what was going on inside me. I was trying my hardest to become better than my father. Those times were quiet, lonely, dark, and uncomfortable, but they forged me into someone stronger. I’d almost fall asleep most days on the way to the gym in the car, but I remembered who I want to be. I didn’t find my purpose; I built it. Discipline and hard work can take you places where motivation can’t. I carried my father’s words with me in the gym, in the kitchen, and in the classroom. “Be better than me” wasn’t just advice — it became a promise and lifestyle I live by. Not eating any junk food for 3 years straight, Thanks