During 2011, a devastating event former altered my perspective. It was then that I found out that my father had greatly damaged three discs in his spine lifting heavy objects for a long period of time; the news stunned me. The doctor advised my dad to either have surgery or take medications to relieve the pain. He inevitably chose the latter as there were too many risks inherent in the surgery. That day I considered how life would be if my father were incapable of working, thought about how my mom would have to get a job, and imagined the new responsibilities that would emerge in the family. Angry at life, I believed dad did not deserve this cruel fate because he is a loving person who has always cared for, and placed, others before himself.

My dad does not want me to experience life as he has, performing physical labor for little recompense, so he would constantly remind me of how crucial a role education would play in my future. After two months in pain, his condition slightly improved, but he had to adjust his role at work since he could no longer lift heavy objects. I am grateful for having a person like my dad in my life because he cares deeply for me and my family: he truly embodies everything that a daughter would desire in a father.

I assisted my father at his restaurant during the summer of 2012 and that experience radically changed my perspective of the role of education in my life. Like many other teenagers, I had previously convinced myself that a superior education would secure a first-rate job without truly comprehending what it actually meant “to learn.” The feverish work required at the restaurant blew away that simplistic notion as the temperatures in the kitchen would rise as high as a hundred degrees. I can still remember how exhausted I was on the first day and I can still not believe that my father has been doing this for the past twenty-seven years. Undereducated, he had worked extensive hours for little recompense in order to earn a living and support our family. Stunned, I became conscious of the immediate reality wherein an education provides opportunities for me to better myself and does not exist as something to be taken for granted. I strongly desired to distance myself from a laborer’s world which demanded a great deal of work for little pay.

My experience with manual labor compelled me to rededicate myself to my education. I realized that a successful life would be contingent upon developing my intellectual abilities through education. Additionally, I was no longer only concerned about my work life, but also considered my future as a person. I truly believe that an education can make me a more knowledgeable person who can practically apply her learning in the real world. In the end, I only hope one day I will be able to release my father from his hardship through my newfound determination and resolution.