To my favorite couple,

You have been my inspiration since day one -- well, since boys stopped having cooties and didn’t eat worms. You two have defied the odds and found your one true love. I know the path for you two to find each other was bumpy, but being a product of your relationship, I’m glad you stuck it out. How can I ever thank you for teaching me what it means to love another person, besides what I have learned from my countless hours of watching rom-coms.

First off, I have to thank you both for having bad first marriages. I know that saying thank you for divorces sounds messed up, but I mean it. I think because you have both gone through marriages to the wrong people, I have learned to look at love in a different way. I have a perspective of possible expirations on relationships, I am able to be aware of when something is not meant to be, and know that if something doesn't feel right, it means it isn't right.

I am glad you both have taught me to love myself first and that whoever I may end up with, must equally love me too; the lack of love in a marriage isn't even truly a marriage at all. In addition, the importance of being independent that you have enforced in my upbringing is something I constantly think on. The ability for myself to never feel that I need someone else to complete me is valuable because I have learned from you both, that love is a privilege and it is something to not think lightly of.

Most of all, thank you for teaching me the value of a relationship, not only one full of love, but the friendship that must be the foundation in a successful relationship. Your constant battle over who is better, IU or Purdue is something I see myself doing with friends already. Plus your ability to make each other laugh, cry, and smile is something I can only hope for in a future spouse.

"I finally understood what true love meant -- love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be."
Nicolas Sparks, "Dear John."

Although I have never been in love yet, I have learned from you two that when that day comes I will be able to put someone else's happiness before my own. You two have raised me in a household full of love and have taught me to never settle on what truly matters, which is love.

Thanks, Mom and Dad,
Your daughter