Moms teach all kids from day one, but there are some things that you learn specifically from a mother that is doing things by herself. From as far back as I can remember, it has been my mom and I. She has struggled over the years to be everything that she thought I needed, and she has been everything and more. She knows everything about me from my fears over the future to the laughs I've had. She knows all of my friends names even if she has never met them before, all of my professors teaching philosophies, and all of my favorite Netflix binges. She has been there for every single high school sports event, first date, heartbreak, car rides, late nights sneaking in, and college cram session. She has always managed to be my biggest fan, my biggest critic, and over the years, my best friend. I wouldn't be where I am without her. Here are seven things I learned from growing up with a single mom.

1. Thank you for teaching me to be able to stand on my own two feet.

I know that in college the joke is that girls go to get their Mrs. Degree. My mom has taught me that companionship is great and to search for love, but at the end of the day not to have to depend on a man for anything. I have watched my mom run a household entirely by herself. Even though she was a single mom, there was never a time when she acted like there was something she couldn't do. She could support herself, take care of herself, live a happy life without a man by her side. Whenever I think of the word strong, that is what I think of; I think of having so much strength to be able to say hey the world may be crashing around me, but I am strong enough that I can do this by myself.

2. Thank you for teaching me that people weren't always meant to stay in your life

Part of life is people walking in and out of your life. People who promised they would be there are no longer there. It isn't fair by any means, but sometimes it is a part of life. Through the pain it is difficult to see the reason. My mom has always shown me to accept what you can't change and to have faith that there must be better. My mom taught me to believe in everything happening for a reason to get you to the place you were meant to be, even if the journey isn't easy.

3. Thank you for teaching me to forgive myself

Everyone makes mistakes. There are so many times when it is easy to look at where you have been in life and let it define you. Your past made you who you are, but it is not going to make you into who you are going to be.

4. Thank you for teaching me that everyone is human

There are some people in your life that you want to hold to higher standards; it's only natural. People are human; they let u down. What a shame it is to think that a person is more than a person. She taught me to remember to give people the benefit of the doubt and to remember that no one is perfect.

5. Thank you for teaching me to love without reason

My mom is a much better person than I will ever be. I'm going to be honest, I hold resentment and I still hold grudges for things that happened 13 years earlier. People hurt you and it is tough sometimes to let those things go. My mom has such an amazing heart that she can look at a time in her life that she was most hurt and still manage to see good from it. I don't know how she does that. She has taught me that there are some people that may not deserve your forgiveness, but it does you no good by holding on.

6. Thank you for teaching me to jump with my eyes open

Thank you for always making sure that I learn from your mistakes. Thank you for always trying to instill in me the knowledge and the, dare I say, fear so that your little girl won't have to go through the same pain that you did. Thank you for always putting a chip on my shoulder by telling me how hard marriage will be and how you just hope and pray to be able to make it through one more day. But through all that...

7. Thank you for teaching me to believe in love

You have always been supportive of me in every relationship I have been in, even if you knew they weren't what was best for me before I did. You have always been there to encourage me to chase the white picket fence and not fear the possibilities. You have always stressed to me that you never want me to be defined as a product of divorce. I am only a product of myself.

Mom, I know that things haven't been easy. You have always put me first in everything. You have been there on multiple occasions to catch me before I fall and to help me fly. Growing up I never could understand the type of sacrifices that you made for me. You always made sure to go above and beyond for me and you put up with a lot of stuff for so long that you shouldn't have had to because of me. Even when it seemed like nothing you did make sense, I knew that you always had my best intentions at heart. Mother's Day is only a single day, and there really is nothing I could do to express how much I appreciate all that you have done to make me into who I am. I love you so much!