As I become older, I realize how important it is to have a mother and father around in my life. They are our best support system and sometimes we take them for granted. They are here on my good days and on bad days and have given their life to me, so mom and dad, I at least owe you a few words.

First, I want to start by saying thank you. You have taught me how to do every basic thing in life, you have taught me to be strong and independent, and you have taught me that life is not easy and not perfect. Thank you for supporting every decision I make. I've grown up a lot since coming to college two years ago and I've made a lot of big decisions that are not easy for you guys to accept, but you both have gone along with my choices and been there every step of the way. Finally, thank you guys for supporting me through the toughest, and a lot of the times, dumbest, times of my life. You didn't have to drive four hours to sit in a hospital room and watch me battle through the worst time of my entire life. You didn't have to drive four hours to help me through the worst heartbreak I've ever experienced. You did though, and for all that alone, I'm eternally grateful for you guys.

Next, I want to apologize for all the things I have put you through. I constantly feel the need to argue with you guys over the smallest things. When you tell me something and I don't feel like it's the right thing, I don't mean to get sassy and continue to argue. I know you want the best for me, so I'm sorry for always trying to prove you guys wrong.

I also want to say I'm proud of you both. I never tell you that, but I truly am. Dad, you went and fought for our country for twenty-three and a half years and it takes a lot of courage to just leave everything behind and risk your life the way you did. Now, you have your own barbershop and have completed some college. That's a lot of work for a man like you. Mom, you went from being a stay at home mom to working twenty-nine hours in the county library. You raised me on your own quite a bit when dad was deployed and I know that isn't an easy job. On top of that, you guys have managed to stay together through thick and thin. I am so proud of how far you both have come in life.

Finally, I just want to say I love you both so, so much. You guys are my absolute best friends in life and you've made me realize that in the hardest ways. I've realized no one will ever have my back the way you guys do, no one else will give everything up for me the way you guys have for the past twenty-one years, and no one will love me as much as you guys love me. I pull away from the hugs and kisses you give me when you haven't seen me in a month, but I truly do love them. I love our nightly phone calls, our fun times going out whenever I visit, and all of our little inside jokes. You both mean the world to me and I take you guys for granted for sometimes, but I truly am thankful for you both and I love y'all endlessly. You guys are the best parents a girl could ask for.