The time has come for me to spread my wings and leave the nest. However, despite the Nelly Furtado lyrics that I have sung so many times loudly throughout my house, I have come to the realization that I am actually not "like a bird" at all. The reason why: I know exactly where my home is, or rather, who my home is. I know that my family is my home, and I will always have them to go back to.
It is officially my turn to experience the world on my own; which basically means it's my time to make mistakes and learn from them. Yay. I'm not scared though, well maybe just a little bit... Okay, let's be honest; I'm petrified, but I know that I will always have your support, as well as all the knowledge you've managed to pass along to me throughout the years.
I was blessed to have both of you in my life, my wonderful, goofy, over protective parents, and that alone taught me a lot. By watching the two of you together, I have been able to witness love in its finest form. You have opened my eyes to the truth about love; it is gentle and it is kind, it knows no evil, and it is pure. In this world we tend to "accept the love we think we deserve." You taught me that I deserve the best, and that I should never settle for anything less than that.
The two of you taught me the importance of family. You allowed me to experience one of the greatest happinesses of all; having siblings. I was lucky enough to have not only one but three siblings, which only added to the fun. You kept us close and showed us that our siblings will be our best friends and our worst enemies. The two of you raised us to be kind, respectable and intelligent children. You taught us all right from wrong, showed us the endless possibilities in the world, but most important of all: You believed in us and loved us.
You have always been our biggest fans, cheering us on and supporting us through everything. After 13 years of organized sports, I have realized that you have managed to watch hundreds of our shows, recitals and games and never once complained about it. You have spent years giving us advice on what to do better and then groaning when we chose to do the complete opposite. You taught us to have great sportsmanship and to never put our heads down, because as you taught us we can be winners and we can be losers, but we can never be quitters.
You loved us no matter who we were and what we did. You may have not always "liked us" but you always loved us. You pushed us to do the best we could in school, and always expected us to do our best in everything we did, and you were happy with whatever that "best" was. You helped us learn the harsh reality of life; you can't always get what you want, but with you as our parents, we will always have what we truly need.
With high school over, and the next chapter of my life beginning, I have come to a fork in the road with many paths to choose from; but I am not afraid of making a choice. For the two of you taught me that I can walk down any path I want, I can make any dream I have come true, and if I choose to, I can turn around, start over, and make my own path if I don't like where my first one was leading me. My future is up to me, and me alone. I am the author of my own story.
The hardest decision I've made so far in my life was the decision as to where I wanted to start my new chapter. It took me a long time to realize, but now I know; you can't write the next sentence of your story without moving on from the last. That was another lesson I learned from the both of you, but it wasn't as clean cut as the rest. You two never came right out and said it like you did with "if you have nothing nice to say then you say nothing at all." Instead it was one of the silent lessons that you tricked me into learning. With your help I now know that I can't move on into the future if I remain stuck in my past forever; sure I can bring some of it with me, but I have to be willing to keep moving forward. That is why I chose the college I chose, why I made the decisions I made, because of everything you two taught me about life and the choices in it.
My bags are packed and my wings are ready to soar, but just know that my heart will always know it's home, no matter where I go, or who I meet. Thank you both, for everything you have done for me after all these years. Thank you for attending all of my games, for cheering me on, for embarrassing me and forcing me to take pictures of everything. Thank you for pushing me to make new friends, for expecting the best from me when it came to my education, and for never once accepting anything but the best from me. Thank you for loving my siblings and myself unconditionally, and for never admitting who the favorite child is... Even though we all know!
I know that saying goodbye has always been hard for me, change has always been a problem and I have been dreading this moment for years, but I have realized this isn't a goodbye. It isn't a goodbye as much as it is a thank you, a see you later, it's my way of saying I love you and I appreciate everything you have ever done for me. This is my way of saying I hope I have made you proud and that I will continue to live my life the way you taught me to, filled with integrity, love, kindness and happiness.
Love you bunches and bunches!
Your "favorite"
