Dear mom and dad,

I wish I could tell you how many times I've heard the words "Your parents are so cool, you are so lucky!"

And they're right, I am lucky.

But not for the reasons they think. When my friends remind me how cool you are, they're saying it in response of a story I've told them. Maybe it's from you not being (too) mad at me the time I threw a party when you were out of town, or maybe it's because you don't freak out when I accidentally drop an F-Bomb during a mental breakdown.

They say I should be grateful to have lenient parents, but what they don't understand that you guys aren't lenient, you're real. You realize mistakes happen and that as a kid I'm supposed to have fun, but within that you somehow managed to teach me what being a person is all about.

My life has been filled with my friends "sneaking out" or lying to their parents about where they are going or what they are doing. But you guys completely avoided that, and that's why I'm so grateful.

The connection we created came solely from your trust in me. It was never, "No, you can't go out because parties are bad." It was always, "You can go, be safe, send me the address and call if you need anything." I never felt the need to hide anything from you; you taught me that whatever had happened, we were going to figure it out and everything would be okay.

And for that, I thank you.

Thank you for never making me feel like I needed to lie about my whereabouts and instead teaching me to always put honesty and trust first. Thank you for not grounding me over my first failed math test, but congratulating me because with failure comes progress. Thank you for understanding when I got in trouble at school and not treating me like a disappointment. Thank you for letting me be a person, and not just your child.

And maybe to a lot of other parents, it may seem like careless parenting. But here I am to tell you why the way you raised me is the only way I've felt parenting did it's job.

Because of your "lenient" style of parenting, I can honestly say you are both my best friends. Not many kids can say that they have the relationship with their parents that they can (literally) tell them anything. You've shown me that my opinions matter and the troubles I go are relevant, and that I'm not just your kid; I'm a person.

It's was not about forcing me to do what you believe I should do, but allowing myself to figure life out but have my back when I fall. You've never pressured me to be the perfect child, because the perfect child does not exist, and you knew that. But you have taught me the importance of kindness, having an open mind, and being responsible is all about.

Parenting can be defined simply as taking care of and loving your child, but you guys have made it so much more than that.

And I'm so proud to be the product of your crazy, awesome, lenient parenthood.