My mother took this photo of my father and my cousin. This was a few days before my father passed away from cancer. His skin and eyes were yellow because of jaundice. My entire family wanted to take photos with him one by one as a memory but he told them he did not want to be photographed in this state. They told him that it would mean so much to them and then my mom started shooting as each family member stepped in, one by one. My dad did not try to fake a smile, as there was nothing to smile about in this moment.

This photo reflects the relationship between my family and my father in the month leading to his death; the focus was very much on what my family wanted instead of my father. Although many decisions were not in my father's hands, he never pretended to be okay with things that were forced upon him for the sake of a cohesive family situation. He was not afraid to let his opinion be heard and if he had the physical strength to walk away from my mother shooting pictures, he would have. Since getting up and leaving would have taken an extraordinary amount of effort, the next best thing is giving the camera this specific expression. This photo shows me that even with a disability, people can protest in other ways – in this case with the expression on his face. This photo inspires me because it is a moment in my family's history and it gives me real emotion because I find humor in my father's "ruining" of the picture. Witnessing someone becoming weaker every day makes you appreciate the power that you have in your life with every decision you make because one day, you will likely miss that freedom when others become your guardian again.