My dad has always been my best friend, even when I was little. Now the school has never been my strong suit, especially when you have every single learning disability that exists on the planet, it's definitely harder. What I did not know was that my dad was the exact same way when he was growing up.
For years my dad would encourage me to keep trying even when I wanted to give up. I remember one time my dad was in charge of me getting my permit. Now the permit test in Georgia might be the hardest test you will ever have to take, seriously. You actually have to study and I don't mean just skim through and say a few keywords and tell your self you can pass, cause you won't. Now I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I failed the permit test THREE times, but every time I failed my dad knew how to make me feel better.
Whether it was driving me to get Chick-fil-A or blaring Old rock music and pretending to know the words, it always worked. A few years ago my dad became quite ill, which made him physically weak and spending long days and nights for months in the hospital. What most people don't understand is that when this was going on, this showed me how strong he is and how strong I can be.
Being ill and having to change your whole lifestyle in a year is extremely hard, and most people would just give up and call it a day. Yet, my dad never gave up, I could tell he was hurting and wanted to be able to play golf with his buddies or even just drive two minutes to Publix.
So, my dad and I changed roles, I became him and he became me.
What I mean is that I kept encouraging him to keep going on, even on the worst days in the hospital. When my dad was able to come home for good, was the day that I knew my dad was the strongest person. Even today, my dad has so many struggles yet he never gives up. My dad showed me how to be strong. To never give up on something you want, or know you need to do. To make hard decisions into a fun game, or to talk it out. My dad is my role model for one simple reason: he is strong.
