Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you.

I know this phrase gets tossed around a lot, and so it starts to lose meaning, but I hope you know that I’m grateful for all you do. Although, even in the greatest sense of the phrase, I could never capture just how much you both really mean to me.

Dad, I know I typically say, “Mom and Dad,” rather than “Dad and Mom,” but know that that doesn’t make you second place. Just like you and Mom “claim” to love both of your kids equally, I’m “claiming” that you and Mom are both equally as important. (Let that sink in.) But it’s still nice to be put first sometimes. So if it’s okay with you, Mom, I’m going to thank Dad first.

Thank you for working hard every single day so that I have the opportunity to go to school so far away and still visit home every break. Thank you for allowing me to change my flight when I get incredibly stubborn and ask to come home earlier than expected because Michigan weather is completely intolerable. You raised a true Californian. Bet you regret it now.

Last week, you texted me saying you were half an hour early to an appointment with a client. I joked that I already knew this because when else do you get bored enough to talk to me? But the truth is, I know you don’t have time to talk throughout the workday because you’re constantly busy. So thank you for always thinking of me and making time to talk, especially when you really don’t have time in the first place. And thank you for always being so energetic over the phone. I might not always share that same enthusiasm, but on my worst days, that’s exactly what I need to hear.

Thank you for setting the best example and teaching me that it’s not about where you go to school or what your GPA is; it’s about what you make of yourself after graduation that matters. It’s about how you take advantage of all the opportunities you’re given, but also how hard you need to work to obtain those opportunities.

Thank you for always making sure I’m safe, but also knowing that I will make the right decisions. Thank you for encouraging me to do my best and allowing me to choose my own path so I can pursue something I love (rather than something practical that will leave me financially stable). Because who really wants to end up financially stable anyway, right?

Now, Mom, don’t think I forgot about you. You’re my rock. You’re the reason I'm able to function on a daily basis. Thank you for listening to me rant about the most pointless things and for telling me things I don’t want to hear, but know I need to hear. You always know how to comfort me, especially on my worst days.

Thank you for showing me how to love and what it means to be loved. You’re constantly thinking of others and trying to make their lives easier, even though it makes yours more stressful. You have the biggest heart, and I admire that so much about you. I hope someday, someone can say the same about me.

Thank you for letting me figure things out on my own—for letting me make mistakes we both know I need to make in order for me to grow. Thank you for trusting that I know what I’m doing and for believing that I have a good head on my shoulders.

Thank you for laughing at the stupidest things with me, and for always juggling Dad, Spencer, and me at the same time. You’re the real MVP. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.

But most importantly, thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising me right. I am the person I am today because of you two, and I’m so grateful. Thank you both for loving me unconditionally. It’s not in your job descriptions as parents to do anything I’ve mentioned, so I know that I’m incredibly lucky to have such great role models and a strong support system.

I love you both more than you can ever imagine.

Always,

Your favorite daughter