Dear Dad,

Thank you for being my best friend, for being the hand I need, and the shoulder I can use to cry on. Thank you for being my #1 fan, my go to support system and most importantly, for being my dad.

You raised me to be the best person that I could be. You taught me the difference between being kind and mean, how to love and to be loved, teaching me right from wrong, but the most important lesson that you taught me was that it takes a lot to be a parent, to love someone unconditionally, to be that balance of a parent and a friend.

You taught me that it is okay to not be okay. You showed me that it is okay to cry and break that it makes you a stronger person. You showed me that it is okay to be who you are, to embrace your weirdness and silliness that if someone judges you for it they don't need to be apart of your life. You taught me that I should only accept those that accept me, that those are the people who are really going to care for me.

Alongside of all the lessons that you have taught me growing up I need to thank you for always being the first person to lend me a helping hand when I need it. You are always the first to wipe a tear off my face, to make me laugh when all I want to do is cry, you are the first person to give me a hug when all I want to do is fall apart. You, you are the reason that I am here today, without you I don't know what I would do. You have always been my rock and you will forever be my rock. No matter what.

You have always been my #1 fan. From every sport that I have played you were always the loudest one on the sidelines. Telling me what I need to do to fix something or giving me praise for making a good play. You have always bettered me as a person and a softball player.

Growing up with you as a father has been the best thing for me. You have shown me a lot, from travels around the world, to going fishing on the lake, to making me earn my own money to know the true value of a penny. You always push me to be the best that I can be.

Even when I am at my worst you are still the person that tries to be there for me, no matter the amount of attitude I hand to you, you always set me back onto the right path. If we have a fight we always find a way to put it behind us.

I am a spitting image of you. I have you hard head and stubborn personality, but I also have your sense of humor (most days) and your hand of creativity. Along with all those things, I have gained your huge heart because of the way that you raised me.

Thank you dad for being my best friend. Without you I would not be where I am today.