To my brother. My dad. My grandpas. My uncles, cousins, friends. To all of the men in my life, past and present: thank you.

Thank you for loving me and being my rock. You have believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself.

Thank you for never letting me win, or settle for anything less than my best.

Thank you for showing me that I have choices, and that I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions and knowing what is best for me.

Thank you for teaching me that it's okay to be independent, and tough, and smart. And that those traits don't make me any less of a woman, but more.

Thank you for showing me what love is, and that there are all different kinds, and that it can be expressed in a million different ways.

Thank you for not treating me like just a girl, and for knowing that I have choices and showing them to me, and showing me that I can create my own.

Thank you for being my coach, and my biggest fan, and my biggest critic. Thank you for bonding with me over sports and never making me feel inferior because I was a girl.

Thank you for giving me the world, and helping me to find my own strength to make it mine.

Thank you, not for giving me strength, but for bringing out the strength that I always had inside of me, that you always knew I had inside of me.

Thank you for sharing so many memories with me. They are memories I will cherish forever and look back to when I need a little bit of sunshine.

Words cannot express how much I appreciate all of the lessons, conversations and memories that we have; nor can the phrase “thank you” do justice to what I am trying to say.

You have helped shape me into the young woman I am today: strong, capable, loved.

And I hope to make you proud in everything that I do.

RIP Grandpa.

I'm doing everything that I can to make you proud.