Dear Dad,

When I was little I looked up to you as the smartest, the strongest and the best man in the whooooole wide world. In fact, it is safe to say that you were my hero and I raised you up on a pedestal envious of the gods and untouchable by all. You still are my hero.

There is no way for me to tell you that all the ways and times your love and support of me has made such a difference and impact on my life. I can’t possibly tell you how special and important you are to me or how much I appreciate everything you give me, share with me, and do for me. I don’t know how I can ever put into words all the feelings I hold in my heart except for “I love you Dad”. I can’t possibly tell you how much you mean to me, but I hope you always know.

Thank you for pushing me to always do my best. You saw something in me, a better and stronger version of me in everything I did from dancing to volleyball, to my art and even in my academics; because of you my work ethic never stops surprising people, including myself. You recognized my love for volleyball and did everything in your power to make sure I was able to learn from the best and try my hardest to become the best. Thank you for all of the backyard practices and semi-forced workouts because I know now you only wanted me to be the very best that I could be and you never stopped believing that I could be better.

Thank you for teaching me to never give up on myself, because it is more than just your pride that is hurt when you quit. You taught me that quitting only cheats yourself out of the learning and growth with every experience and how else are we to grow? There were times when I didn’t want to continue and you dangled my dreams in front of me to coax me on. Thank you for helping me achieve my dreams.

Thank you for allowing me to be unapologetically me. I know who I am and I am not afraid to be who I am, because of you. I get my weird sense of humor from you and I usually end up making people laugh with my bluntness and sarcasm. Thanks for the dumb “dad” jokes, puns, and corny sayings.

Thank you for all of the of the times you fixed my hair, wiped my nose and fixed my scraped knees- peroxide is a girl’s new best friend. Thank you for the “not” burnt grilled cheeses and all the chocolate I have stolen from you. Thank you for a fabulous taste in music and even fabulous hair ( lol ). Thank you for all of the piggyback rides, tickle fights, and after-practice car ride chats.

Thank you for everything you have done and will do for me.

Love,

Your princess