1. Be honest.

This shouldn’t be a hard lesson to learn but I wasn’t always the most honest kid. I was the big sister who beat up her little sisters and then played the “no I didn’t, they’re lying” card. But when I think about a lesson I learned from my dad about honesty, one particular scenario comes to mind. We were not allowed to chew gum in my middle school and especially not in gym class, but I did because I thought I was cool. My teacher saw me chewing and knew I had gum but I lied and said I didn’t and that’s when she told me to open my mouth. She saw the gum (because apparently I wasn’t smartenough to swallow it in time) and made me call my dad and tell him I lied to her. This didn’t go over well and I was grounded for about 3 weeks and he made me write “I will never lie” 500 times. For a middle schooler this was the worst but I made it through and tried my best not to get caught lying again... HAH!

2. Be strong, even in difficult situations

My dad is a police officer and has been for quite a long time. I know he has seen and handled some very challenging things. I cannot honestly tell you one scenario in which I have seen my dad afraid of something. I am sure it has happened but I have never seen him in a position of that kind of vulnerability. He has always been the typical “strong man” of the household who doesn’t get emotional easily and when he does it is still in a strong, held together sort of way. (I’m not quite sure how he has survived 3 emotional daughters. But hey, go him.)

2. Work your hardest to get the farthest.

My dad always told me to work hard, get good grades, go to college, and get a good job. This is a path that I have strived to succeed on throughout my life so far. He is the kind of person that sets his mind on a goal and doesn’t stop until the goal is met at its fullest potential. Seeing this and being taught about this during my childhood has given me a sense of drive when it comes to tackling difficult tasks I come upon in the future.

3. Your best can always get better.

My dad is a bit of a perfectionist and I have him to thank for my own perfectionist tendencies. I would bring home report cards with B’s and be really proud of it and he would tell me that it could be better. I will admit that this messed with my head sometimes and made me think I wasn’t good enough, but I thank him for it now because it taught me to always strive to be my absolute best and never stop trying. This is a trait of mine that I cherish, I am very organized and particular because of this need to be the best version of myself that I can be. I continue to think every day, “how could I do ______ better?”

4. Be humble.

Never once was my dad overly excited about an accomplishment. Sometimes I thought it was weird that he didn’t seem excited about some of the amazing things that he has done but as I have grown up I realize that he is just a humble person. He doesn’t feel the need to overly revel in something that he has worked toward. Sure, he is happy and excited but why be obnoxious about it. He celebrates in his own way and I appreciate that because I am a naturally very animated person and I love to express my true feelings right there in the moment. I have taken this lesson from my dad and applied it to my life now with getting ready to graduate college and become a full-fledged adult. No adult needs to be blatantly celebratory with every little success.

5. Be open to new experiences.

I am a timid person who like to stick to what she knows and not stray to uncharted waters too often. When I was younger I was put into all kinds of different sports that my dad wanted me to try. I was convinced that I wouldn’t like them and I wanted nothing to do with them but, now I can say that I’ve tried a ton of different activities. I was involved in softball, karate, tap, jazz, and ballet dancing, and finally cheerleading and tumbling, which I chose to spend the rest of my middle school and high school career dedicated to. Had I not tried all of those things, I would have never found out what my true passions were and would have never been the person I am today because of what those experiences taught me.

6. Love without limits

I have seen my dad work through so much in his relationship and I admire how hard he has worked to continue with it. They have had some serious struggles but never gave up and continuously forgave one another and pushed forward. It is hard to see such struggles but it is worthy of some recognition because I know if I had to go through those things I could not have handled it the way he has. I hope that one day if I have any really serious struggles in my relationship, that I can push through it like he has and come out stronger than ever despite the past.

Thanks for all that you've done for me and our whole family. I love you dad.