Dear Dad,

You know I am not one for cheesy messages or anything of that sort. But I wanted to let you know a few things before I go off to study abroad and return to the whole college routine.

I am sorry that we have the occasional fight. We really do not fight that much and I am glad that is the case. But when we do, it sucks. There is no other way to put it. It just sucks. And everything that we argue about is stupid. In fact, every argument is always about something stupid and in the end it probably was not worth it. It is not worth it for us to get all worked up about things that do not even matter. So I am sorry if I lose my temper and I am sorry if I take my own problems out on you.

I know you think that "the minute you dropped me off at college" I changed. Well I am here to tell you that you are 100 percent wrong. You are completely wrong. I know you want me to contact you a lot and all that and maybe in the first semester I could have done more, but I do not feel that I was always contacted. And it bothers me that everything is always put on me. Guess what? Hardly anyone contacts me and it is always up to me if you want to know the truth. That is why I cut off some friendships. Because I am tired of being the only one making an effort. And I am sorry that you felt that way. But I think I improved and you just have to trust that I am completely fine. You need to trust that I am doing what is best for myself. I have constantly kept my grades up. Maybe they went down a little the second semester. But you know what? That is because classes got harder. It was not because I was slacking. I know what you and mom want me to do. And so I hope and pray to God that you can just always trust me in that I am always going to put my best foot forward.

I care what you (and mom) think about me. I care that you think my grades are good. I care that you are happy about something I accomplished. You are my parents and I want you to believe that your eldest daughter is doing the best she can do.

And lastly I just wanted to thank you for everything. Thank you for paying my tuition even though it is a lot (too much actually). Thank you for taking me to Pittsburgh every year and introducing me to baseball and hockey. Thank you for handing over $20 bills every so often when I need it (that is an under-exaggeration).

I cannot stress any of this more than I already have. I hope you know that this comes from the heart and that I mean every word.

Love,

Baseball Buddy