My father didn’t get me to where I am today. There, I said it.

Now, don’t take that the wrong way. My father was a wonderful man who I loved dearly, but he’s not responsible for making me into the woman I am today. How could he be? He’s been dead for six years.

While yes, my father helped me get started, he wasn’t responsible for shaping me into who I am now.

That honor belongs to my mother — a hardworking, dedicated woman who has pushed me to be my very best since forever. She has supported me through all my decisions, even if she didn’t always agree with them. She also taught me to appreciate all that I have been given in life.

It was my mom who was working a full-time job as an STNA in a nursing home while raising two teenage daughters on her own. But despite the fact that she was constantly busy and worrying about all the things that come with being the head of the household, she was there for my sister and me no matter what.

It was my mom who helped my sister and me with our fair animals, vetting and feeding them on the condition that we do the work. It was my mom who was there for my sister and me every choir or band concert and FFA banquet and school play and softball game.

It was my mom who helped me get my State FFA Degree by always supporting me no matter what. It was my mom who watched me walk across the stage at graduation. It was my mom who helped me move to college.

She was there through all the friendship dramas of high school, all the disappointments, and all the achievements.

She taught me to stick to my values and even shaped some of my views on the world. She taught me to never go below my standards and to hold myself accountable for my actions.

The values my mother instilled in me during my teenage years are what shaped me into who I am today. Her constant support encouraged me to chase my dreams and become the best person I can possibly be.

But when you say that my dad got me to where I am today, you’re discrediting all that my mom has done.

My dad was a wonderful man and I love him, but it is literally impossible for him to have influenced my life as much as my mom has. He missed the entirety of my teenage years, and he’ll miss all the milestones that are yet to come.

Nothing will change that.

Life moved on without him and it will keep moving on. My mom was there and is still here; my dad was not there and hasn’t been here for six years.

So please stop telling me that my dad got me to where I am today. Stop telling me that my dad shaped me into the confident, passionate person I am today.

Because he didn’t. He may have helped shape me when I was a child, but the person I was then is different to the person I am now. He had nothing to do with the person I have become.

My mom is the one who helped me become who I am today through all her support and encouragement, so stop discrediting her.