Dear Mom,

To my mother, my best friend, my greatest influence…

This letter is for you.

The moment I blossomed inside your belly, I have received nothing but unconditional love from you.

You have been by my side since day one; believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

You always have faith in me. Pray for me when I need it most, and when I need a hug, you hold me close.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

You have guided me into the individual that I am today. Letting me grow into the woman that I want to be. From letting me go to preschool every day in the same horse printed dress that I demanded to wear. To letting me walk around the hallways in middle school with baggy basketball shorts and a low ponytail. You let me discover who I was meant to be, and not what society told me to be.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

I have made some of my greatest memories with you. From singing our hearts out to music that is cranked up way too loud in your beat-up red truck (probably the reason both of us are going deaf), to laying by my side as I fell asleep when I was young. You have given me nothing but love.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

I go to you when I need advice, when I need a good laugh, when I need someone’s shoulder to cry on. Literally. You still allow your almost 20-year-old daughter to come cry on your lap when everything seems to be going wrong, even though I know I am squishing your legs. I only hope I am as good to my daughter one day as you are to me.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

You are the first I call when something happens, when I need to vent or when I just want to talk. I want you to know, you to be the first one to be excited, or sad, or happy for me because I want to make you proud.

One of your greatest joy's may be watching your children grow, be successful in life, and proud of our accomplishments. But mine…

Mine is making you proud.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

Yes, we may fight; quite often actually. We bicker over the littlest thing. Yell, because we feel like we need to be heard. But that is because I am a replica of you, as much as I try to deny it.

Stubborn, we want our way.

Competitive, even when it’s just a card game.

We even laugh the same. The high-pitched, loud laugh we both have, that can be picked apart from others when we are in a crowd.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

A thank you can’t even begin to cover all of the years you have been by my side.

Mom, you are perfect in my eyes. I wouldn’t trade a single argument, moment or memory for anything else.

Mom, youare my greatest influence.

I love you forever and always.