Ever since I was a little girl, I have always said I wanted to marry a guy like my dad. My dad was my first love. As I have grown up, I have experienced love and because of my dad, I know how it should feel. My dad taught me more life lessons and terrible jokes than you can imagine.

My dad taught me that love is selfless firsthand. He woke up early to get me dressed and ready to go school every day when I was a kid. After coming home from a long day at work, he always spent time with me. He is also to blame for me becoming a night owl. When he had a late night at work, I stayed up to see him. My parents did everything they could to keep me as happy and grounded as possible. He gave up a lot of things in order to do just that. And I am so thankful.

He's still the person I can always go to, no matter how old I am. To this day when I get upset, I call my dad. A few weeks ago, I had a bad day. My mom informed him of this and the next thing I know, I received a call with the first words I heard being, "Whose butt do I need to come down there and kick?" just so I could smile. He has always been one of the greatest go-to people for advice that I know. One of the wisest things he has ever said to me was: "Not everything is as good as it seems. Not everything is as bad as it seems." It may seem trivial to you, but the quote has had a huge impact on me the last few years. When my day feels like the worst day ever (remember: I am over dramatic so this happens at least once a week), I remember that quote. It helps to shed some light on how truly blessed I am. Yes, I might be having a bad day but it is not as bad it seems. He revealed his past mistakes to me so I could be better than him. He trusted me to do the right thing, which I am grateful for. He never kept me on a leash and because of that, I never had to go through a rebellious punk stage. He has listened to my over dramatic rants longer than anyone else, which let's be honest, takes a lot of patience. He loved me during my ugly stages. He wasn't embarrassed (well, at least that I know of) to go out with me in public through the brace face, toothless or bald headed baby stages. Even when I turned my back on him, he was still there for me.

I have picked up his good and bad (although he will never admit he has any) qualities. I definitely got my confidence from him. Somebody the other day told him how they thought I was cool. His response was, "Of course, she's my daughter." I received his competitiveness. However, I did not get his athletic genes. I used to think how silly he looked while yelling at the television during sports and now I catch myself doing it (thanks a lot, dad). Dads are famous for their awful jokes. When I was a kid, I could not say "I'm hungry" or "I'm tired" without hearing "Nice to meet, Hungry. I'm dad!" I acted like it was annoying, but I secretly loved it. Now, I have the corniest sense of humor. He passed down his great taste in music and now I can rap to LL Cool J and Snoop Dogg and sing to John Mayer, Clint Black and Waylon Jennings with the best of them. I also love to throw a peace sign up just like dad (see: the picture below). I recently got asked if I could only have one best friend in the entire world, who would it be? I thought about all my friends, but the obvious answer was my dad.

I've seen this man at his weakest and never respected him more. My dad taught me that it was ok to cry. Heck, he cried when I cried and it goes both ways. He's been tested emotionally and physically throughout the years and he's still the strongest man I know. He's relentless and never gives up. I strive to have the motivation and good heart that he possesses. He has loved my mother unconditionally. My dad taught me the definition of a good man. He is the ultimate example of what every man should try to be.

As Frenchy said in the movie, "Grease":

To the man who will love me almost as much my dad:

I hope you learn from him. I hope you still dance with me in the kitchen when we've been married for over 20 years. I hope you still tell me you love me every single day. When things get hard, I hope you work things out with me. I hope you try to gross out our kids with being mushy and affectionate like he does with my mom. I hope you can take care of me as well he did. I hope you can have a good relationship with God like he does. I hope you know how to braid hair because I sure as hell can't. I hope you're as stylish as him because I am going to need someone to help me out. I hope you like watching Disney movies with me no matter how old we are. I hope you will have the patience to deal with me, even when I'm being an extra pain in the butt. I hope you will use the "Nice to meet you, Hungry. I'm dad!" jokes on our own kids. I hope you don't mind hearing my tone deaf voice sing every single song that I think I know on the radio. I hope you will stay up until three in the morning just to talk about life with me. I hope you will follow your passions throughout life, wherever that may take us. I hope you will be able to love me just as much as my father.