My mom carried me around for 9 months. She showed me how to tame the wild, crazy, mess that is my curly hair. She showed me how to be a woman and is one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. Mom's are commonly credited with raising their children. And so often, I see the role of the father getting extremely undervalued. I know several people who are very dear to me, that had to grow up without their dad, and just the mere thought of that makes my heart hurt for them. Every girl needs her dad, and here are some reasons why.

Our dad is the first man in our life, and as such, sets the standards for every man that we allow into our lives afterwards.

As a dad, your first responsibility is to show us what a good man is. What they say, how they act, and how they are supposed to treat us. We will compare every guy we come in contact with to you whether we realize we are doing it or not. You have the ability to set the bar for all our future boyfriends and husbands. The way that you treat the women in your life shows us how we should expect to be treated. The way you treat our mom shows us how we should expect our husbands and potential husbands to treat us. All those times you stopped on the way home to pick up our mom's favorite flowers "just because" did not go unnoticed. Nor did the way you speak to her, the sweet way you look at her when she walks in the room, and how you tell her she is beautiful even when she is in her PJs and has a bad case of bedhead. We, as your daughters take notice of these things and will in turn, expect them of our husband one day. You are in control of what we consider normal. The way you treat us, also affects these decisions. By setting the bar high for future men who will one day come in contact with your little girl, you are able to protect her. She will not look twice at a guy who is any less than that of her normal. By setting the bar high, you are protecting your little girl's heart for years and years to come, from boys who are not good enough to deserve it.

Our dad's make us feel pretty, and we know that even though we don't have a real tiara, we are still a princess.

When you tell your daughter that she is your princess, you are building up her self- confidence for years and years to come. Being daddy's little princess is not something that we can ever really grow out of. When you make your daughter feel like a princess, she starts to believe it herself. That belief does wonders. You are the first man to tell us we are pretty. And the more that you do that, the more we believe it. When a girl believes that she is pretty, and is confident and secure in her body, she can conquer the world. We will never allow another man to stay around if he treats us as any less than his queen, and that is because of you. It is up to you to foster and build your little girl's self confidence and worth and make sure that she knows that no matter what any boy ever tells her, she is perfect, and she is your princess.

Dad's hugs are magical.

When we walk into the house, slamming the door behind us, with a mix of tears and mascara running down our cheeks because that stupid boy broke our heart, you are the one we run to. You are our dad, and somehow you know just what to say. You sit so calmly and listen as we recount the events of the night and how we just aren't sure if we will ever be the same. And even though you want to go beat the daylights out of that idiot guy who broke your daughter's heart, you know it can wait. Instead, you just give us a never ending hug. Your hugs can heal any wound and we know we are safe and it's gonna be okay. You have an uncanny ability to make tears stop and make us feel special again with just a hug.

Dads are the voice of reason when we are completely freaking out.

When we call you in the middle of the night, freaking out because it is our sophomore year, and we are not sure what we want to do with our lives, or if we are in the right major, you find a way to make us feel like everything will be okay. You are so wise, and have the most uncanny ability to bring us back to center when we are all over the place and freaking out. You remind us that it will be okay, it's not the end of the world, and that we need to keep our chin up and stay positive. Your pep talks before big interviews and exams are one of the most undervalued thing in the world. You know us so well, and when we get off the phone, we feel empowered and like we can totally do this.

I would like to say a special thank you to my dad. You have always been there to help me pick up all the pieces when I fall, and are one of my best friends. You have always reminded me to stay positive when I'm feeling down or doubtful of myself and for that I am forever thankful. I do not know where I'd be without you in my life. I love you dad.