Dear Mom,

You did everything right.

You had me just a couple months after turning 15. The age of 15 was different for me though. At 15, I was attending my first prom, performing in my first Speech competition, qualifying for the school honor roll, learning how to drive and probably running late to track practice. At 16 you were watching me crawl. At 16, I got my first car and attended my second homecoming with the dress we agreed to never tell Dad the price of. I was still slamming the door in your face because puberty was still just "so cruel". At 18 you now had two screaming kids and a job you hated. At 18, I was on homecoming court, dancing at my senior prom, on track to graduate high school and preparing myself to attend a University you were going to pay for.

Now I’m 21, and I have spent 21 years of being loved and supported by my best friend.

Some people told you you were too young to have a child, some criticized you and many prayed for you.

As I go into my junior year at the University of South Dakota while being External Philanthropy for my sorority, I can't help but laugh at those who doubted you.

I went through high school with no one realizing my mom was "too young". I grew up in a nice house with an amazing family and one very lazy dog. I had no wants or needs because you and Dad gave me the world. You were shoveling money out to me so I could go to the concerts, the field trips and water parks that I just "needed" to go to because "everyone else can".

Now that I am in college I realize more than ever how amazing you are. As a child yourself, you raised not one, but two children, who would never thank you enough. You completed high school and got a college degree. But most importantly, you taught me what it meant to be strong, how to love myself, how to love others and how to overcome any obstacle that got in my way.

But this letter isn't just for you, it is also for those people we met along the way.

To those of you that doubted my mother or I, thank you. My mother knew she had eyes on her and it only fueled her aspirations to becoming the incredible mother that she is, as well as fuel me to be more successful for her.

Another thank you to those of you who supported us. To the amazing women I call my aunts; I know you helped her as much as you could while raising your own families. And of course to my adorable grandmother for teaching my mother how to be independent and strong.

And finally to my dad. Our family would be nowhere without you. You realized how amazing my mom was from the first second you met her. You loved her so much that you decided to become a stepdad to her two naughty kids. Thank you for loving me as your own and everything you have done for this family.

And mom, you're my best friend, thank you for everything.