To the best dad anybody could ever ask for. To the dad who goes out of his way to make me smile. To the dad who will go with me to get gas for my car at 10:00 PM, and even pay for it. To the dad who believes I can do anything and pushes me to do more…I love you. No matter where life takes us, I will always be your little girl and you will always be my hero. This is for you, Daddy.

Dear Daddy:

Where do I even start? There are so many things that I could thank you for, so many ways in which you’ve made my life richer; so many things you do that show me how loved I am. You were my first love and everything I could ever hope to find in a man. You had the coolest job (and still, do, might I add...) and I will always want to do exactly what you do, no matter how unlikely it is for me to do so. I’ve always looked up to you, laughed with you, and wanted to be just like you.

I remember when you showed me the pictures of me in the empty garbage can, I was smiling and to this day it still makes me laugh that you threatened to “throw me away” when I was being annoying. Now, since I’m 20 years old and can’t fit into the trash can anymore - you still find ways to bug me and tease me. And inevitably, you make me laugh. There’s nobody in the world that could compare to you, dad.

Thank you for fixing my car every time it needs fixing and always being there when I need somebody to talk to. Thank you for always checking to make sure I get home from work safe. Thank you for our special goodnight text messages. Thank you for standing at the door and waving to me as I drive off. I know this must be hard to watch, and sometimes when I’m done waving and smiling to you - I wonder if there is anything I can do to make it easier. They always said that growing up is hard, but I always assumed this just pertained to parents - not the children. But I want you to know that however far I may drive, or however far I may wander - I will never be too far away to share some weirdly flavored ice cream and watch the Food Network.

I actually can’t wait for school to start again so I can have some free time to go on our ShopRite adventures again…I know it’s been hard with you working nights and me going to my internship for most of the week, so I’m excited to bring back our old habits. I miss you, Daddy. I miss having so much free time that we didn’t know what to do with it anymore. But I promise you, I’m going to have more of it now.

Thank you for teaching me to be strong and for teaching me to stand up for myself. You taught me to recognize my own potential and be able to take care of myself in the event I don’t have anybody to take care of me later on in life. I love you for never letting me get away with things when I was younger. I love you for pushing me well beyond my limits. I love you for being proud of me. I love you for the way your eyes light up and you smile when people say I’m just like you. I love you for the way we laugh about seemingly meaningless things together. I love you for the way we think the same things about the people on TV. I love you for the way our personalities collide and for the way you get grumpy with me when you tell me something and I forget it a few minutes later and you say that I’m not paying attention. But most of all, I love you for just being you.

My daddy, my hero. I am so lucky to have you in my life. Today and every day, I love you with all I have and all that I am - because, without you, I could never be me.

I love you, Daddy.

Love,

Your Little Girl