Thank you.

I never said it enough. I never appreciated everything that you guys did for me enough. I never called to check in with you enough. And I never realized any of that enough.

It wasn't until my first semester of college that it all began to dawn on me–– I was considered an adult. I had to start doing my own laundry, taking care of myself, and doing all the daily things that I always relied on you to remind me of. It wasn't until I was in the laundry room three weeks into the first semester unsure of what to do that I realized I was getting myself into unchartered territory. It wasn't until I was sick of food from the dining hall that I realized how much I really did love home-cooked meals. It wasn't until I saw the costs of tuition and living on campus in comparison to how much financial aid we received that I realized I ask too much of you guys, yet you do whatever you can to make me happy regardless.

I'm sorry I didn't realize any of that sooner.

Mom, I'm so proud of how our relationship has grown. From bickering every day over small things to being best friends. I was always a little too selfish when it came to you, and never thought about how much you really did sacrifice for me, even if it was to just give me the less burnt chicken cutlet. There were times that I saw you were having a rough day and I just looked the other way as I walked out the door to prevent feeling bad about going to hang out with my friends instead of comforting you the way you would me. I never allowed myself to be comfortable opening up to you about my life which is one of the easiest things for me to do now. I know I gave you a hard time over many things and had my fair share of "I hate you's," but just know that I couldn't do all of this without you.

Dad, I admire you greatly. You work extremely hard and do it all for us. And I've never told you how much I truly appreciate all that you have done, even in the hardest of times. You're the rock, and the calm one when Mommy and I can't be. I tended to take you for granted most of the time. I used to dread being asked the question "How was school today" every day by you, but I didn't realize that you were only making an effort to relate to me more, and now I miss answering that every day. I think somewhere along the way, it wasn't cool anymore to sit with your dad every Sunday morning reading the cartoons in the newspaper, and I regret the lost years along with taking you for granted during them. But I really cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done for me.

Thank you both for putting me first in your lives, even when I didn't reciprocate that. Thank you for being my biggest supporters, whether it came to cheering me on at every soccer game that my team lost, or when it came to me deciding on my major and what I wanted to do during my time in college. Thank you for not letting me get away with everything, and pushing me to own up to my mistakes. More importantly, thank you for always accepting those mistakes. Thank you for being perfectly okay with who I am and allowing me to be myself (except for the seventh grade when you didn't feel the need to stop me from dying my hair green.)

Love you always.