Physics, sleep, physics, sleep. Physical. I turned off the alarm, turned on the light, and grabbed my textbook from my nightstand. Today was just the start of another regular school day, and I couldn't help but look forward to the weekend as I went over Newton's three laws in my head. As I turned to the next page of my notes, I was startled by the sound of a doorbell. At four o'clock, who could be at the door? Could this just be a simple mistake? The wrong house perhaps? My intuition said otherwise; I knew something was wrong. My mother got out of bed and rushed to the front window. I heard the voices of my father's friends as my mother let them inside. The next thing I knew, I heard my mother crying as the two men tried to comfort her; my father had died. In that moment, I felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. Not knowing what to do with myself, I wondered how all this could have happened. How could he have died? He was only thirty-nine years old, he was in good health, he was happy. He had just called me from Dubai a few days ago, telling me what a wonderful time he was having and how he could go to Nairobi for a few days. What could have happened to him from the day of his last phone call to the day he – I paused – I couldn't even think about saying the next word. Standing on a podium two weeks later, in front of all my family and friends, I delivered my father's eulogy. Choking back tears, I reflected on everything my father had accomplished throughout his life, the wonderful times we had shared together, and everything he had taught me. My father and I had always shared a special bond, one that went beyond that of father and daughter. He was my best friend, my inspiration. It allowed me to......middle of paper......ng that is out of the ordinary, we see it as a barrier in the way of our expected paths. By accepting my father's death, I stopped seeing it as an obstacle, but rather as part of my path. Since I was little, my father had raised me to be a strong and persevering young woman. He always told me that resilience is the key to life. If I could overcome an obstacle or recover from a violent blow, I could do anything. As I dealt with his death, I thought about all the lessons he taught me growing up. That's when I realized what the purpose of my father's death was. His death was an opportunity for me to test whether I could take everything he had instilled in me and use it in the face of such an obstacle. I took on this challenge, knowing it was time to show myself what I was made of, time to make my father proud..