I am blessed to have a fantastic mother. She is loving, smart, giving, and thoughtful. She's my number one fan when I need her to be and the first to kick me in the butt when I need it. She loves me fiercely and lets me know whenever she can.

She's the best mom I could ask for, and saying goodbye to her will never not be painful.

It hurts to leave someone you know will miss you more than anyone else; someone who wants you to succeed purely for your own sake but wishes it didn't have to be far away from her side. Knowing that she'll be missing and loving me from afar is a comfort but something that saddens me as well because I hate the fact that I have to do the last bits of my growing up without her right next to me. Though, I suppose that's kinda the point.

I'm sure that it's really hard for any loving parent to see their child go out and discover the world without them and that for a mother it's especially difficult. My mom is definitely no special case from this. She's the kind of mom who will jokingly tell me that she'll support me forever if I choose to just stay home and not go to college. She'll even leave notes on my nightstand a few days before move-in, telling me not to go, which kind of really sweet but also pretty funny as well. Even when she is hurting, she shows me she loves me, albeit in goofy and cute ways.

Leaving for my freshman year of college was a really hard day. My future was exciting and bright and tempting, but leaving everything I knew and my parents who love me so much was awful. I can't count the number of times my mom cried, even months before I left. When I finally got there and was gone for good, she made me call her every other day — or else I'd get a very passive-aggressive text letting me know that it'd been too long.

So, Mom, as I leave for school for the second year, I want you to know how much I love you. I appreciate every single thing you do for me. Sure, sometimes we fight and I know I can be a brat but know that that doesn't mean I love you any less. I think you've done an amazing job raising me and giving me the tools to succeed in life and no "thank you" will ever be able to repay that. I'm so happy that I got you as a mother.

Yes, saying goodbye is still hard and I'm not sure it will ever get any easier. But goodbyes are just temporary. I want you to know that no matter where I am or what I do, you'll always be my wonderful mother and no goodbye, no matter how hard, will change how much I love you.