"At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents." -Jane Dee Hull

Many teenagers these days believe their parents are out to get them and ruin every small detail of their lives. Some may even believe that their parents, whether together or separated, love a sibling more than them. I take pity on these types of teenagers and/or children because not once in my twenty years of living have I ever thought that of my parents.

Maybe I'm one of the lucky few who can say her parents have a strong, healthy marriage. Sure there are ups and downs, but what relationship doesn't have that? My parents are two extremely different individuals, though, and that is what makes them so phenomenal. While my father is extremely sarcastic and can find humor in almost anything, my mother is more focused on the serious side of things and getting things done. I guess you could say I follow in my father's footsteps while my sister follows in my mother's.

Maybe I'm one of the lucky few who is able to say I take family vacations with my mother and father every summer. I'm the girl who is "spoiled" enough to travel to Walt Disney World time and time again to make new memories with the ones I love. Injecting that kind of entertainment and positivity in my life has made me enjoy every possible thing I can no matter the outcome.

Maybe I'm one of the lucky few who have the privilege to sit down every evening with my parents and have a nice family dinner. The dinner could be home cooked or in a take out box. It doesn't matter because no matter what, I am sitting there between the two most important people in this universe. I feel incredibly shattered inside when I hear that there are people my age whom I know personally or younger that do not sit down with their family at all. Not during our three meals a day or even for five minutes just to see how their day was. To learn that there are a large amount of families who do not communicate like I do with mine is heartbreaking. I thank my lucky stars each and every day that I have the family I do. We may be small, but we are close in every way. I will never take that for granted.

Maybe I'm one of the lucky few who can actually connect with my parents and tell them anything. I have never kept something serious hidden from them because in the end that will only hurt me, myself, and I. I find comfort in being able to talk to them about something so ridiculous just to be able to laugh with them, but I also find an extreme amount of positivity and love when something serious needs to be taken hold of. I believe I am able to talk to them like this because they were never those strict parents you hear of in the movies or listen to your friends complain about. No. My parents are considered to be the "cool parents" among anyone who has ever had the opportunity to meet them. These "cool parents" let me live my life and learn from my own mistakes. They let me choose my own path to my personal happiness and I thank them for that. Thank you, mom and dad, for not smothering me into doing what you wanted me to do. Thank you for not trapping me inside of these four walls of a home. Thank you for letting me be free to become an interesting and unique individual. Thank you for bringing me up right. Most of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving me, taking care of me, and being there no matter what.

Just within these few short paragraphs, I did not even get one hundred percent of my feelings across. I do not believe that there are enough words to sum up my love and admiration for my mom and dad. Those two people are just too outstanding for my words to even come close in describing what they truly are in my eyes.

Now I speak directly to you, mom and dad.

I am proud to say that I have the best mother and father in the entire world. I am proud to be your daughter. I am proud to have the relationship with you that I do. I am proud that we always have each others backs. Most of all, I am extremely honored to have had the privilege these last twenty years to call you both my mother and father. I love you and I hope you never forget that.