Shoutout to the dads who raised us as mini-me’s, took us fishing and made us play catch in the backyard. For being our biggest supporters. Here is a list of all the things I have yet to say thank you for:

For telling me I could be a CEO, doctor, lawyer or scientist,

For not telling me I would be a princess or model,

For telling me I was beautiful even when I wore boy clothes,

For not raising me to wear skirts or dresses,

For forcing me to haul brush with you and my brother,

For not letting me use the horrifying excuse, “But girls don’t do yard work,”

For teaching me how to throw a football in a spiral by the time I was 6,

For not forcing me to attend ballet in a tutu,

For telling me that I don't need makeup,

And for not making me feel guilty when I did wear it,

For making me play backyard whiffle ball with my boy neighbors,

And making sure if I was on the losing team I never said it was because boys are faster or stronger,

For saying, “Oh come on, that cut isn't that big” when I fell, instead of babying me,

And for covering it in duct tape instead of a Barbie band-aid,

For not letting my brother treat me less because I was his little sister,

For teaching him how to treat a girl,

For yelling at me just as aggressively as my brother,

And for not letting mom say, “She’s sensitive,”

For making me go to college and saying, “You can do more than be a housewife,”

For yelling at me when I got a C in math,

For letting my boy cousins push me down in tackle football,

And for not letting me cry about how they are bigger than I am,

For teaching me to do a perfect tail grab by the age of 12,

For taking a picture of how high I got off the ground, even though it was only six inches,

For making sure my clothes were covered in grass stains,

And my hair was always up in a bun.

Thank you to my awesome dad and to all the awesome dads who treat their girls like unstoppable little bada***s, or at least, like equal members of society.

You da best, Daddio.