As you get older, you realized that the person you are did not just appear out of thin dust. You didn’t create yourself or give yourself chosen personality traits. It’s who raises you that has a big impact on who you are. It’s the personality traits from your parents that you get. When you look at your parents and they do something that reminds you of what you do you realize you get it from your parents. That silly thing you would tease your mom or dad of doing, you find yourself doing it one day and think oh shit I do it too. Sometimes you get a mix of both parents and sometimes you have more traits of one parent than the other. For me, it’s my dad.

It is no shocker that my dad and I are a lot alike. Not only do we act a lot alike but we also look a lot alike. I can probably give you a list pages long that lists what we have in common but I won’t. The ones that stand out the most would be that we are both extremely stubborn. We are both always right even if we are wrong. We are both not the most social people in the world but cling to our close friends like family. We are protectors and want to protect those we love. We are both extremely competitive and push ourselves to be the best we can be. We are both hard workers and will do whatever it takes to get a job done.

Not only do we have similar personality traits, we happen to be really close. It’s not a shock to see us hanging out together. And it’s definitely not a secret that I am a daddy’s girl. From the start, I wanted to be with my dad all of the time. I even would mow the lawn with my dad as a little kid barely tall enough to reach the lawn mower and would just stand under my dad and I would pretend that I was helping even though I was probably in the way. I would go fishing with my dad (and still do) and even though as a kid I did more sleeping than fishing, I still wanted to be with my dad. He’s the one that showed me how to bait a hook ,play catch, cook polish sausage and sauerkraut, and to be an avid sports fan of Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Blackhawks.

I aspired to be like my dad since the very beginning and as I grew up, I found myself being like him everyday. I even learn like my dad does which is more hands on than just being spoke at. When you have someone that is like you, you tend to relate to them and share the passions they do. My dad and I are close because we are so much alike. No one else would understand why we are screaming at the television as we watch our favorite sports team. No one else would understand that fishing for us is more than catching fish, it’s the memories we make while doing it. No one else would get that for us that the simple things in life are the things that make us the happiest. They would only understand the relationship between my dad and I if they saw it or lived it like we have.

My dad and I are a lot alike and that’s what makes our relationship so special. I wouldn’t be obsessed with sports, in love with the outdoors, extremely stubborn, and so much more if it wasn’t for my dad. No matter how old I get or who comes into my life, my dad will always be my number one guy in my book. No matter how old I get I will always be his little girl even if I’m 50 and he’s 80. And it’s going to be hard to find a guy that’s perfect for me because my dad set the bar so high, so good luck to the guy that tries out there. I’m not one for being cheesy but sometimes you have to be. Thanks dad for being my fishing buddy, fellow sports fan, protector, and overall best friend. Here’s to many more memories yet to come.