In a world already filled with so much hatred and violence, people need as much love as they can get. While love can be found among friends and between couples, the love of a parent to a child is unparalleled. After all, we can have as many friends and significant others in our lifetime as we want, but we only have one set of parents. The relationship between a parent and child is extremely important to me, which is why I am always so upset when I see a parent and child displaying no emotions toward each other. Personally, a parent should not be addressing his or her child as “sport” or “champ” or “bud” because those words have no endearing qualities to them. “Champ” is something a little league coach calls a batter after they strike out at the plate to console them.

Seeing these displays of emotion—or lack thereof—affects me so deeply probably because I have such a strong relationship with my dad. I’m 17 years old but I still let him kiss me around my friends and call me “his little angel” because I love him. Our bond is unbreakable. We have an immense amount of trust in each other that is displayed by our "word of honor," where if we address it, we cannot be lying to each other. I go to my “daddy” (yes I still call him that and I’m not ashamed—my dad still calls his dad that as well) when I need anything and he is always there for me. He is my friend when I ask for advice, my father when I need it (or sometimes don’t), and my rock at all times.

It saddens me to see the relationship between most of my friends and their parents. They speak to each other on a first name basis as if they are colleagues at work. Some of my friends disrespect their parents and lie to them, severing the trust between the parent and child. One of my friends has to have an alarm on his door because his parents are afraid he will sneak out during the night to hang with his friends. All of these problems can be fixed with communication and respect, but that comes because of love.

Just yesterday my father and I went out for lunch where we had a very deep discussion about our biggest fears in life and not reaching peoples’ expectations. I would not have been able to open up to my dad and have that conversation if I did not have the bond I have with him today. And to my friends and everyone in the world who is not as close to their parents as they would like to be, you can do it. Whether you realize it or not, you and your parents have a special bond as well that is just waiting to be recognized. It might even start with them saying “sweetheart” instead of “sport."