In June 2012 my dad unexpectedly suffered a heart attack and as a result of late CPR, brain damage as well. He was immediately flown to Royal Columbian hospital in New Westminster, BC where he remained sedated for two weeks. He was under sedation for so long because every time the doctors tried to wake him he had seizures and as a result more brain damage. After so many months, it had gotten to the point where the neurologist and his cardiologists had a meeting with my mother and I where they informed us that he is most likely in a vegetative state and that he would never be able to live a normal life of any kind if they finally managed to control his seizures (since his heart was also extremely weak). Soon after his admittance to Royal Columbian we learned that his heart attack was the result of my dad having a heart that was almost twice the size of a normal size heart. This may have been avoided if he had regular checkups- but my dad like most parents is a stubborn man. Two weeks later he was transferred to Abbotsford Regional Hospital where after more 2 and a half more months of praying the doctors finally managed to wake him up and keep his seizures under control.
During those months I began to experience a change in my personality, my philosophy, and my view on life in general. You see in Elementary school I was what you might call the class clown – I was even given an award for it by my classmates and teacher at the end of the year. Whereas, as I entered high school and post-secondary (during my undergrad years) I dropped the funny act, became less social and much more serious; at the time I felt like it was 
necessary because I wanted to find success in my studies and I didn’t think there was another way of doing it. However, after my dad was hospitalized I began to realize the importance in living life the way you want to live it. I wanted to be the best person I can be-not for others but for myself. As a result, for the past couple of years I have been slowly developing into an individual who is more social, still hardworking and serious, but I can now take a joke as well as give a few of my own. Another example of how I changed was that I was not happy with myself physically-I looked unhealthy. I worked hard that year to lose a little over 75 pounds (picture on right) and have managed to keep it off. Upon reflection I believe all my experiences have helped shape me into who I am today however, I believe this challenge my family encountered was the one that had the greatest influence on me. Simply put, I no longer want to live my life with regrets. I want to be the best I can be.