On September 21^st, 2018, my dad was announced brain dead after a construction accident resulting in a severe brain injury, many broken bones, and a week in the ICU. A week prior everything seemed normal. The day of my dad’s accident he took my siblings and I to school, we said our goodbyes not knowing it was our last. I think about this often. What if I could have said or did something or maybe even called him that day. Would it have made a difference? Would he still be here? I remember being picked up by my uncle in my 8th grade band class. My uncle, siblings, and I rushed to the hospital not fully understanding or processing what had happened. That car ride was an hour of pure silence, questions, and prayer. Followed by a week of sleeping in a hospital waiting room, even more questions, more prayer, and sadness. 

A back story on my father is that I grew up on his family farm with my four siblings. Here we raised sheep, cattle, and harvested land of corn and soybeans. Unfortunately, my dad suffered from alcoholism, which caused me to grow up slightly differently than other kids. I experienced my dad going to treatment multiple times, money was always tight, and my parents getting a messy divorce all while trying to get through lambing, calving, and harvesting season.  With all this going on my father had to sell his life insurance to keep the legacy of his family farm and our home alive. We all had our own demons to fight, but especially my dad. I am so proud to say that he was three years sober before he passed away. 

Because of the sacrifice of my dad having to sell his life insurance and my parents’ divorce, our whole farm was put into a trust with all five of us kids, which was supervised by my oldest brother. We all own a 5th of the farm, so my responsibilities grew. During our time of difficulty, we had to sell our harvesting land and machinery to keep afloat. Fast forward to now, I am paying for things most 19-year-olds don’t have to like house and farm utilities, feed bills, and college tuition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to follow my dreams of being a nurse. 

My father selling his life insurance took a toll on me and my siblings after his passing. We did not have extra money to pay for his hospital expenses or funeral. If my dad had life insurance it would have lessened the stress of paying off many of our farm loans, extra expenses, and could have aided us in paying for college. Because of these circumstances I have always been taught to work hard. I knew if I wanted to go to University I would have to do so through scholarships and my own income. I have had numerous jobs since I was fifteen, but I am currently working two jobs in-between school life, sorority life, and home life. Of course, I wish circumstances were different, but I have grown into someone my thirteen-year-old self and dad should be proud of.