Mom,

I want to start by saying I love you. Now that my first year of college has come and gone and now I’m preparing for year two and the start of the rest of my life, I’m realizing that our time together is getting shorter and shorter. Honestly, as excited as I am to move out next fall, I get sad at the thought of not being around you, my best friend and my inspiration for any and all things.

I know I don’t show it as much as I should. The fact that life is busy is no excuse for me to not stop every chance I get and tell you how much I love you and how lucky I am to call such a great woman my mom. So now, I need you to know that I love you to the moon and back. I’m so grateful for you.

Now, I need to say thank you. Even though saying thank you doesn’t even begin to cover what you deserve to be told, I’m saying it now. Thank you for being my number one fan. Thank you for supporting my dreams, no matter how insane. Thank you for the hugs that are sometimes a little too tight. Thank you for being my shoulder to cry on.

Thank you for laughing with me, always. Nothing makes me happier than the times that we laugh so hard that we can’t speak, even if it almost always happens at the most inconvenient times.

Thank you for hating the same people I do. Having my mom be my best friend is the greatest thing. I wouldn’t want to complain about that one girl or tell horror stories about my ex-boyfriend to anybody else but you. Seriously.

With that in mind, thank you for loving the same people I do. Your opinion means the world to me, Mom, and you need to know that. It means a lot that you like my boyfriend. It means even more that you know that my views of people can change in an instant, and you understand when the girl I was mad at yesterday is my confidant today. Thank you for rolling with the punches.

Thank you for never judging me. If there’s one thing I love about our relationship, it’s that we have no secrets. None. I can come home from a night out and tell you everything, and you won’t think bad of me. (And if you do, you never express it.)

Thank you for inspiring me to do better and be better every single day. How you are as a mother is exactly what I aspire to be. If I even come close to the mother you are, I’ll consider that a success story.

Thank you for letting me spread my wings. I know that terrifies you to no end, but I need to do it. I think you know that now, and your acceptance over time has never ceased to warm my heart.

Thank you for never letting me forget the fact that, no matter what happens, I will always have you.

Lastly, Mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the times that I skipped a night in with you to go be with my friends. I’m sorry if I ever disappointed you. I’m sorry for every single pointless fight, and the times that my selfishness stood in the way of your motherly reasoning. I’m sorry for all the times I neglected to say thank you for the things you do.

You are my best friend. I hope that, when I’m older, I can be an amazing mother, just like you. After all, I will have learned from the best.

I love you, Mom. Thank you.