If you ask anyone who is close to me, they will be able to tell you that my family is the biggest blessing in my life. I have the relationship with my brothers and parents that I always hoped I would. As much as I am thankful for every member of my family, just like any daddy’s girl will tell you, there is no bond like that between a father and a daughter. Sometimes we lose sight of the lessons we learn from our parents, but ever since I left home for school, I have been nostalgic for the nights spent up late with my dad, the TV, and a bowl of coffee ice cream. Here are five reasons why I believe that dads are a girl’s best friend:

1. Baseball.

I have one man to thank for my love of the best and most American sport there is. He is the one who instilled my love of soft pretzels, Dippin’ Dots, and cotton candy, without even knowing it. Some of my fondest memories from growing up are sitting in the most uncomfortable plastic seats in the world, but it didn’t matter because I was at a baseball game with my dad. Growing up, people always complain about their parents, but my dad knocks it out of the park everyday.

2. Late-night movies.

We all remember the nights that we woke up and crawled out of bed to go tell our parents that we couldn’t sleep. In those moments, we all secretly hoped that our parents would let us stay up until we were tired enough to get back in bed. While lots of parents would take their kids back to bed, tuck them in, and say goodnight yet again, my dad would invite me up onto the couch to watch his favorite black and white movies with him. Not only did those nights let me feed my rebellious dreams of staying up late, but I have my dad to thank for my love of movies, and therefore determining my college major and career path. All I want now, is to give other fathers and daughters their favorite late night moments with the TV shows and movies that become old friends to them.

3. Teaching me how to stand up for myself.

When my dad would come home from work every night when I was little and I would enthusiastically run to the door and jump into his arms, I bet he never thought of how his little girl would be let down and led to believe that she was not enough throughout her life. But as I grew up and got in fights with my friends or made to feel that I was not enough, he was the first one there to send me an Eleanor Roosevelt quote about gaining strength by looking fear right in the face and doing even what I think is impossible.

4. Always believing in me.

There is no one who believes in us like our parents do. Whether it was getting a 90 percent on a high school test when I thought I got a 95 percent, or losing a youth group election that, at the time, meant the world to me, or getting rejected from colleges, my dad never failed to make me feel like I did my best, will always achieve more than I believe I can, and that I would end up right where I was destined to be. My dad is the smartest man I have ever met, so I knew I had to trust him even when I thought there was no way to get back on my feet. My dad’s faith in my abilities is what has led me to push myself in academics, social circles, and moving towards my career. Without the endless support of my dad, I would have stopped believing in myself a long time ago.

5. Showing me the kind of man I should marry one day.

My mom and dad have been married for 36 years and fall in love with each other all over again every single day. My dad still opens doors for my mom, brings her flowers just to make her smile, leaves cards around the house for her on special occasions, and never fails to say “I love you” whenever he has the chance. From the second he wakes up to the second he goes to sleep, my dad is thinking about how he can be an even better husband and father than he was the day before. My dad’s silliness when he is with my mom, his genius when he is at work, and his complete and utter love and devotion to our family has shown me the kind of man that I hope to marry one day.

I am not going to deny that I am a daddy’s girl through and through. When my mom said “no”, I would immediately run to my dad, bat my eyelashes, and have him wrapped around my finger like every little girl does with her dad. And as much as my twenty one year old self likes to think that I am independent, being away from home makes me wish that I could just run to my dad when anything goes wrong and he will fix it right away. My dad is forever going to be my hero and I am forever going to be his baby girl and his Principessa no matter how grown up I like to think I am. I love you to the moon and back, Daddy. Thanks for being my guiding light.