Dad,

In my nearly twenty years of life we have been through a lot. To be quite frank, a lot of my childhood you weren't here for or you were more of a background character. Our time spent together has often been short and a little unconventional. While we had a lot of struggles one thing that has always remained constant is that I have always shamelessly been Daddy's Little Girl (I have the t-shirt to prove it!) . Despite our sometimes rocky relationship and our frequent arguments because we're too similar, I have come to love and appreciate you, both as my father and as my friend.

We are more alike than we are different, which is a tough thing to admit. We both love the Steelers (you more than me), we're both incredibly stubborn, we are both extremely silent and keep to ourselves, and we hate to admit that we have actual feelings like normal people. Don't even get me started on how much we look alike. How many sets of father-daughter pairs have the exact same birth marks, freckles, facial structure, body type, head shape, and ears? Until I hit puberty we were basically twins.

We're usually on the same wave length. You can always tell how I am feeling based on a look and vise versa. We tell the same jokes and have the same dry sense of humor that no one else seems to understand. We get frustrated over the same things and excited over the same things. We pick on each other and make faces to show affection. You're the one person in the world that actually manages to understand me as a person because most of my personality comes from you.

As my dad, you've supported me in nearly every endeavor. You've attended chorus concerts since the fourth grade, plays and musicals. You trained me when I thought I wanted to be a track star, despite the fact that I dropped that dream very quickly. You've encouraged me to follow my dreams and make the most of my life in every way possible. You've basically been a cheerleader for me for most of my life.

You taught me plenty of valuable things. You taught me how to box when I turned seven so I could defend myself against bullies. You taught me that it was okay to be shy and not have as many friends because you're the same way. You taught me that there's no shame in who I am or the color of my skin, no matter what anyone else says. You taught me to take pride in myself and who I am, even if I have made mistakes. You taught me that no matter what I go through in life, I have the strength to come out on top.

As my best friend, I've always been able to come to you with any problem and know that you'll keep my secrets and always be there to back me up in any way that you can. I have been able to tell you about all of my boy troubles and heartbreaks. All of the bad things I have done that I am terrified to tell mom. You've always been my shoulder to cry on and my secret keeper.

We have always bonded over watching football games, our hatred for crowded places and our undeniable love for dogs. Somehow despite how serious and sometimes intimidating you can be, I have always managed to get you to be a goof ball and be weird with me. We play with toys in stores and dance in public despite that neither of us have any sort of rhythm. We rough house and act like kids when I am home from school and it's so much fun to see that side of you. It's a side that only our family sees and it's probably my favorite side of you.

As a parent let's be honest, you weren't the greatest. But despite the cards we've been dealt as a family, you've done your best with what's resulted. A lot of our relationship is spotty and there are holes where memories should be, but you've done your best and owned up to mistakes you've made. I admire you for that. That's why I write articles like these and give you long emotional cards on birthdays.

Essentially, while you weren't the Gold Medalist in the Parental Olympics, you are still my dad and I am beyond thankful for you and the relationship we've been able to build. Love you always and forever.

Your little girl.