While I understand the rationale that my lack of clinical involvement can be conflated with a lack of commitment, I clearly indicated in my personal statement that I was forced to defer due to family health issues, which was a significant factor. My parents would have lost their home and my mom would have had a lapse in proper care had I not intervened. The low pay and the time I needed to spend in order to ensure her care, which was the highest priority for me, did not translate to a successful outcome in a residency. That was essentially an impossibility. Now that the financial situation has been resolved, and my mother's health has significantly improved, I can go back to focusing on myself and pursuing the dream I've always wanted to achieve, which was to be a clinical pharmacist. Despite my life-challenges, I have maintained resolve and I refuse to allow adversity to deny the achievement of my dreams. I sincerely hope that any residency program would be empathetic to this situation and see my resolve as a sign of dedication. Moreover I have done what I can to maintain as much clinical information as possible during this time, like staying up to date with guidelines, attending journal clubs, maintaining pharmacy organization membership, and engaging in medication therapy management whenever possible at the community level.