The First Man In My Life,

You’re the first man I loved and always will be. You’re my daddy and nothing will ever change that. I am so thankful for a dad like you. You have always loved me with your entire heart and I appreciate that. Thank you for being a 9/11 survivor; I know there was no way you could have choose to be one but not a single day goes by without me being thankful for you being one. I seriously don’t know what I would have done without you. You’ve taught me so many things in my life.

You’re a dad who sacrifices so much for his kids. I really appreciate the long, hard hours you spend at work even if that meant you not being able to come to every single one of my tennis matches, track and field events, or anything I participated in. Even though you were not physically there, you were there with me in my heart. I may have gotten upset at times when you weren’t physically there and I got mad at you for that. I realize that it wasn’t that you didn’t want to be there, because you did want to be there, but you were busy working hard to be able to provide me with the things I wanted. I appreciate that more than anything now.

No daughter wants to ever hear her dad tell her no. However, I am happy for the times that you did say no. Thank you for saying no, even when I got really mad at you. You knew before I did that where I asked to go could quickly turn bad and it was much better to miss out on something than to have to deal with the consequences. You raised me to be smart and think twice about doing things. Telling me no was probably the hardest thing you had to do as a father, but I am proud of you for doing it. By doing that, you showed me that sometimes the right choice is not always the easiest choice.

You’re not only a father. You’re a friend, a brother, a husband, an uncle, and a coworker. You’re amazing at every single one of those roles. You never let us down. Even if you think you have, you haven’t. You’ve shown me to be strong, brave, determined, willing, accepting, kind, and loving. The story you told me about how and why you became a lawyer is absolutely touching. You told me that after I was born and you held me for one of the first times was when you decided that you had to go to law school and it always made me wonder why. When I asked why, you said it was because you knew that I was a girl and I would eventually grow up and become expensive. So, you had to find a way to pay for everything. As sort of a joke but at the same time serious, I just kind of laughed. But, you followed up with the actual reason why, which was that you knew that you would never be able to tell me to follow my dreams as I grew up, and mean it, if you hadn’t done that yourself. So, you decided to work during the day and take night classes at Seton Hall Law School. It’s kind of funny now considering I am sitting here today at Seton Hall as a student. I am no law student but it’s always cool to say my dad went to Seton Hall Law School. Which, I must admit, did a pretty good job for you now. I am so proud of you, daddy, for following your dream. I mean, look at you now, a Partner in your law firm? That is so amazing. I am so unbelievably proud to be your daughter. I really appreciate you for telling me to follow my dreams here at Seton Hall. When you told me to follow my dreams, you did not sugarcoat anything and you told me that following your dreams won’t be easy, but be determined enough to get there and eventually you’re going to get there. You haven’t been anymore right.

Thank you for our amazing father-daughter bond! Thank you for sharing your love of rollercoasters with me. Thank you for teaching me how to drive. Thank you for your sense of humor and always getting me to laugh even when I don’t want to. Thank you for teaching and playing tennis with me. Thank you for the amazing memories and the more to come!

You’re the most amazing father I’ve ever known. I really appreciate all that you do for me and our family. You’re so important in my life. Don’t ever forget that no matter what, you’re my dad. You’re a huge role model in my life. You’ve done a good job in raising me, my sister, and my brother. I love you dad. Never forget that.

Love always,

Your Daughter

P.S.