I know we don't always get along, in fact, we butt heads pretty often about the same things over and over again. But regardless of how much we argue, I love you so much. You are my hero. You work 80+ hours some weeks at a job that you hate to make sure we not only have everything that we need, but also everything that we want. I don't know of too many people that are even capable of working like you do to take care of us, and I appreciate it so much.

I appreciate you working overtime so you could replace my transmission when it blew out on my way to work. I appreciate you asking me if everything is going okay and making sure I do not have any problems. I appreciate you being hard on me when it comes to school, you motivate me so much. I might complain about how much I studied when you tell me a B is not good enough, but it only makes me want to get an A that much more. I appreciate you protecting me and making sure I am safe. I appreciate you buying me all of my clothes and feeding me and giving me a place to live. I appreciate how much you love me.

I want to make you proud dad, I really do. I am going to college not only for me, but for you too. I work full time not only for me, but because I also want you to be proud of how independent I am becoming. I try to stay active and fit because I want you to be proud of how healthy I am. I try to be the best person that I can be because I want you to be proud of who your daughter is.

I know I have made a lot of mistakes in the past and I have broken your trust before, and I am sorry for that. But you helped me learn from my mistakes, and I am who I am because of you. You are the kind of person that I hope to be one day. You are caring, loving, hardworking, and a good human being. When someone needs help, you help them. When your family needs something, you work overtime to give it to us. When you finally have an off day, you do something with us to show us how much you love us.

I love you so much, dad. I may not say it every day, and some days it may seem like I don't appreciate you that much, but I promise you that I do. You are my hero dad, you always have been and you always will be.