Most girls, when they are growing up are said to be "Daddy's little girl," and this might have been true for a few years, but more than anything I was a "Momma's girl." For as long as I can remember, I have always loved going out and shopping with my mom, or spending a girls' day in and watching Netflix or chick flicks. There was never really a point in my life that I haven't loved spending time with my mom and through the years she has become one of my best friends.

Honestly, you can't get a better friend than your mom because no matter how annoying you are or how much you make her mad, she will always love you and will be there for you. Over the course of my high school career, my mom and I have gradually gotten closer and our relationship evolved into more of a friendship.

Since I was getting older I didn't need a parent reminding me to do my homework or telling me to clean my room; I needed a person to listen to all of my drama and give me advice.

When I was starting my freshmen year of high school, my brother was starting his freshmen year of college two hours away. This meant that he was no longer living at home, and my mom and I had more time to spend just the two of us.

Over the course of four years, we had multiple mother-daughter vacations and even more girls' days out or girls' nights, too many to keep track of. We traveled to New York City, road tripped from Ohio to upstate New York and from Kansas to Oklahoma City, and went to Breckenridge, Colorado for one last girls' trip before I went to college. Those trips created so many memories for the two of us and have made us want to go on even more mother-daughter trips.

Even when we're just staying in our own city, the time I get to spend with my mom is one of the things I look forward to most when coming home from college. We will sit in our living room talking for hours catching up, or spend hours walking through the aisles at Target, following it up by going to one of our usual lunch spots.

Some people may think we're boring or dorky because we both get so much joy out of just walking around Target or because we eat fruit, cheese, and crackers for dinner and watch a movie together at least twice a week. But personally I wouldn't have it any other way and I don't think she would either.

I'm grateful I have such an amazing relationship with my mom because I know I would not have made it as far as I have without her. We became even closer over this last summer after my boyfriend (who has been my best friend since we started dating) left for boot camp and technical training. She talked me through all of my panic and worry and overthinking, and reassured me everything would be okay.

Aside from helping me get through those long months, him being gone gave my mom and I more time to spend together. I don't think we had ever spent so much time together in one summer or even talked as much as we did.

Because of all that time we were able spend together, the trips and adventures we've gone on and the hours spent talking with each other, we have built a mother-daughter relationship that we both love.