The time we spend growing up and worrying about our next life step are often the moments that we forget about the people who matter the most. I don't think most young adults realize how many precious moments we waste. We waste time focusing on the journey and lose sight of the people who have been there since the very beginning of that journey.

Personally, most times I'm guilty of forgetting about the one person who has largely contributed to the person that I am today. So this letter is dedicated to my estranged best friend or the woman I like to call mommy. I've gone twenty-two years without expressing my appreciation to you but that ends now. So this letter is dedicated to you "mother darling."

Dear Mommy,

It's taken me so long to write this letter because I never thought that I could put l everything that you mean to me into words. But I'll start by simply saying thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for each life lesson you've taught me and each one of your encouraging words. Thank you for teaching me how to love myself, and molding my self-esteem.

For years we watched you do it all by yourself with no help. Thank for showing me that a single parent can give you just as much love as two. Thank you for working tirelessly so that three ungrateful and unbearable kids could have everything they needed and most of what they wanted. I also want to thank you for staying so strong during Hurricane Katrina. We lost everything, relocated to a new city and had to start completely over, but you made it look so easy. I don't think I ever thanked you for your strength so now I say thank you so much, mommy.

Honestly, as much as it pains me to say it, thank you for yelling at me and getting me ready for life after college. It's truly made me take the time to invest in myself and my future. So thank you for challenging me and pushing me to be the best version of myself. You've truly inspired the person that I am today. I don't think we tell you enough, but you really are the world's greatest.

I love you.

I should've begun this letter by saying I love you but thank you was long overdue. I love you because you are one of the most down to earth and humble people I've ever met in my life!

You taught me how to tell the truth, so I mean this with as much love as possible. You are the most difficult, stubborn, and quick-tempered person I have "literally" ever met in my life. But I love you because the difficulties are almost immediately followed by smiles and laughs. And that's why I love you. Most of all, I love you because when I told you that I wanted to be just like you, you told me to better.

You used to tell me that I was your best friend because I never judged you. And so I couldn't write this letter without adding this: When you were diagnosed with Bipolar disorder you appreciated how my admiration for you never changed. That's only because I began to respect you more. You kept chugging along and never let it slow you down. Yes, I watched your attitudes and moods change within a blink of an eye, but your love stayed the same. That's why I continued to love you through the ups and downs and I will for the rest of my life.

This is the part of the letter where I tell you I'm sorry,

Girl, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for never realizing that you're human. For twenty-two years you made being you look easy! So easy, that sometimes I completely forget you have feelings too. I'm sorry for the times I let you down. I'm sorry the times when it seems as if to put other things before you. It doesn't mean that you're not important to me. It just means that I'm being a senseless and forgetting what truly matters! I forget that you need my love as much as I need yours. So I'm sorry for noticing sooner. I'm sorry that I don't come home that often on the weekends. It's not on purpose. It's because my weekends are full of homework, exhausted sleep and stress over the upcoming week. I'm sorry that I don't call you as much as I did freshman year. I guess I get so focused on other things, I forget. All I want to do is make you proud. But having a high GPA means nothing if I forget to stop and call you and tell you about the struggles that it takes to get there. So, I'm sorry.

Ma Dukes, you're the strongest person I know and my very own personal hero. I pray from the bottom of my heart that I make you proud to be my mother. Almost as proud as I am to be your daughter.

With all my love Mamacita,

(Inserts one of the billion embarrassing nicknames that you have for me here)