I think my favorite memory with you is standing on your feet, holding your hands dancing around the living room to Beatles vinyls at our old house.

I know we did not always get along and our journey has been rough but maybe that is because we are similar in so many ways. Like how we both are the only ones who like spicy foods in our family. How we both only drink dark beer. How we both can sometimes have short fuses. How we both have the same sense of humor. How we both jam to Stevie Wonder in long car rides up north.

Dad, I want to thank you for everything you do and have done for me. From big things to small, I have realized you play a huge part in every decision I make throughout my life, and for that, I owe you the world.

Thank you for showing me the best music the world has to offer. I would be lost without The Beatles or The Shins.

Thank you for pushing me with sports. When I thought I couldn’t run any harder or faster, you knew I could, so you encouraged me to keep persevering.

Thank you for always making sure I know that school matters most. Because over the years that is what has proved true.

Thank you for raising me as a Spartan. From my baby Sparty cheerleader dress to the gear you buy me when we go to football games, I am proud to wear your alma mater’s colors-green and white.

Thank you, along with being raised as an MSU fan, for taking me to football and basketball games and continuously watching them with me and teaching me the sport. Even when I went away to school, you were still there, texting me back about every stat, play, touchdown, and dunk.

Thank you for not always coddling me. I used to hate that, but I know that it made me into the strong and tough young woman I am today.

Thank you for introducing me to The Walking Dead. Even though you used to tease me because I was scared, I eventually warmed up to it and now it’s my favorite show.

Thank you for teaching me proper manners and how to speak respectfully and intelligently.

Thank you for showing me how to be the bigger person, and to not let mean people bother me. I am better now at letting negative things simply be brushed off my shoulder.

Thank you for editing my papers and sparking a love for writing and editing in me.

Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bike, drive a car, and drive a boat.

Thank you for helping me through my first semester away at college, when I was in a really bad place, at a school that wasn’t right for me, in a whole other state.

Thank you for filling up my gas tank.

Thank you for letting me know that I don't have to become a lawyer like you and Mom.

Thank you for relating and helping me through my depression and anxiety.

Thank you for watching hours and hours of Power Puff Girls and Scooby Doo with me when I was little.

Thank you for beating cancer. That was the scariest year of my life.

Thank you for not being one of the typical psycho, over-protective dads that have daughters and are crazy when it comes to boyfriends and going out. Thanks for being so chill about everything that happens in my social life, and letting Mom handle it.

Thank you for teaching me to always try new foods. And for showing me that putting mayonnaise on top of my grilled cheeses is the best combination yet.

Thank you for all that you do for my sisters, mom, and me. I don’t know where I would be without your guidance.

Love you to the moon and back, Papi.

Sincerely,

Your little squirrel/monkey, Alejandra