I'll be honest, I won the parent lottery. My friends will walk out of my house and comment on how in love they are. I'll go to work at the family restaurant and I'm told how smart, kind, and understanding my dad is. I'll go to the gym and am reminded how inspiring, supportive and brilliant my mom is. They're amazing individuals, but an even more amazing team and I have the luxury of calling them my parents. For as much as I am grateful to them for everything they do for me, I'm still a teenager and sometimes I forget to say the important things. So, in an attempt to just that, here's to my perfect parents. I love you.

1. Thank you for showing me what love looks like.

Growing up and bearing witness to your unconditional love for each other has shaped the way I look at marriage and love and is the sole source of my high expectations for my future husband. I know, because I've seen it everyday for the last 19 years, how a relationship should be, what a truly happy marriage looks like and that it really is possible to find that person that still makes you get butterflies in your stomach 26 years later. Even more so, thank you for making love the number one priority in our family and teaching us to always respect one another (even if that just means belly-bopping after a fight).

2. Your opinions are the only ones that matter to me.

It may not seem like it, but it's true. Your opinions way heavier in my book than everyone in the worlds' combined. Whether it be on what dress to wear for some event neither of us care about, what haircut would look good or what college to go to, your opinion is the most important. I want you to be able to be genuinely proud of my actions and decisions, not just in that required parent way but also just as a fellow human.

3. When you're not proud of my actions and decisions, please know I'm probably not either.

All those times I messed up? Yeah, they weren't fun for me either. Chances are I regretted whatever I did seconds after doing it. I know my mistakes cause you heartache and obviously that's never my intention, but just know that I'm sorry for all the heartache I have caused you in the past and will cause you in the future. I will make more mistakes in my future but you've taught me how to learn from them and move on.

4. You can trust me.

This one may come as a shock to you two. I admit, there have been misleading actions throughout the years, but when it comes down to it, you really can. You can trust that generally I make good decisions and that 99% of the time, I do the right thing, and that I surround myself with a good solid group of friends who also generally make good decisions and do the right things. You can trust that I'm doing my best, the road get a little bumpy sometimes and I may swerve off of it here and there but know that I'll always find my way back on it eventually.

5. You're my best friends.

I'm so lucky to have a relationship with you both where I don't just think of you as "mom" or "dad" but as my best friends, where I feel comfortable telling you all the drama with the newest boy I like, where I feel supported 100% of the time and where I always feel loved. I honestly feel bad for everyone who doesn't have that kind of relationship with their parents because ours means the world to me. I love coming home from work and telling you all the annoying things that happened (even if that just stresses you out, dad), I love going shopping with you and being able to complain about not finding jeans that fit with someone who understands the struggle of having a booty (I got it from my momma), I love confusing people when I talk to you on the phone because of how sarcastic I can be with you guys. I love our relationship and I love you both so much. You really are the best parent friends of all time.