I know today was not easy for you, saying goodbye to your oldest daughter. For the past 18 years, you have been my rock, but it is today that I must begin to learn how to be my own hero.

I will plan to call you weekly. I know we have talked, and you would like me to call you more, but I cannot make any promises. My time will be dedicated to class, work and homework. Studying will become my new obsession, I will probably fall asleep more often with a book instead of Netflix. You do not need to worry.

You raised me well. You tried your best to teach me right from wrong, and you were the best possible mother you could have been. (I love you, mom.)

I would like to thank you for the strength that you provided me with. You showed me how to find courage when courage was what I needed most. You held my hand and gave me a shoulder to cry on and a pat on the back. Do not get me wrong, it is going to be very weird not having you to turn to when I start to crumble under all the stress, but we both know it is for the better.

It is probably going to be strange for you but in a good kind of way. With me having left for college there will be one less petty sibling fight that you need to break up. You will not wake up to texts and phone calls because the TV volume is too loud, and we need you to force someone to turn it down.

I am glad that I have you as a mom. I mean, you put up with me when no one else will. We may not always get along, and we may butt heads quite often, but that is only because you raised me to be like you. You always tell me how proud of me you are for proving your doubts wrong, but you should be proud of yourself, I came from you.

I might be stubborn, and I might act like I am too cool for my mom, but know that I do not even know where I would be without you.

I know you have been crying for a few days, you could not have hidden it, no matter how hard you may have tried. Things were going a lot easier today than I thought they would have...that is until you started crying; again. Please try not to cry anymore. We knew this day was coming, we should be smiling, and embracing this feeling.

I love you, mom. I will be looking forward to our Sunday night phone calls and the weekly updates. I cannot wait for you to come visit me on campus. By that point, I will be able to show you even more cool things here.

This is all so new and exciting. I know you are still scared, but I am no longer a small child, and it is time to learn how to do things for myself in the real world. That does not mean that I will not call you up whenever I need advice or a friend.

As we part our ways today, with excitement, joy, nervousness and fear, know that I will be OK because I am a piece of you, and you are a strong woman.