Rory Gilmore said it best “My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. I don’t know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her.”

It was my mom’s birthday in February and it was the first time we had ever been apart for that special day. While I sent her flowers, sung her happy birthday over the phone, and sent her many texts, nothing could replace being with her in person.

My mom and I have a relationship I wouldn’t trade for anything. A countless number of people have told me that I look just like her and that our personalities are almost identical but our relationship is built on more than just our similarity. From the moment I was born my mom has been protecting me, guiding me, and building me up. Above all she has always been on my side but not in the way you might think.

Growing up, whenever I was in the wrong, my mom was completely transparent with me. While at the time all I wanted was validation, she was teaching me to be better than that. She wanted me to learn that doing what is right is better than the comfortable feeling of hiding our wrong-doings.

When I was little, I never saw my mom as human. She was this amazing person who never felt any of the pains that I did. She never felt lonely or sad or insecure. She was never concerned about what other people thought of her. But none of that is true. As I have gotten older my mom and I’s relationship has grown stronger purely because I understand her more deeply. We talk candidly on the phone about our day-to-day lives and all the things we are facing without each other. Life is sure a lot harder to deal with without my mom by my side.

There is a scene in the opening credits of Gilmore Girls (which is one of my mom and I’s favorites!) with a video of Rory and Lorelai that my mom and I always joke is us. I can’t count the number of times I have laid my head on my mom’s shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, there are one too many scenes in Gilmore Girls that perfectly match my mom and I’s relationship. Here is my mom and I’s relationship as told by Rory and Lorelai:

My mom gave my sister and I a gift each semester. Her policy was that once every fall and spring we were allowed to take a mental health day. There needed to be no explanation just that we were taking our mental health day and she would allow it. But sometimes all our activities and academics became too much to handle and one of us would have a mental breakdown. My mom always found a way to pick us up with a Starbucks iced chai latte and a chocolate chip cookie.

She is both my serious advice-giving and goofy fun-loving best friend. My mom knows how to have fun and whenever I am home from college she makes an effort to make it the most enjoyable break possible. When I was home for spring break in March, she suggested a spontaneous road trip to Fort Worth for the day. It was probably one of the best days we’ve spent together. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I have always been known as the hug-lover in my family. And there is nothing quite like a hug from my mom. Somehow it makes all my broken bits and pieces stick back together again and set the world back on its axis. It’s for this reason I have struggled on occasion during my time at college. There are days when all I want is a hug from my mom. While a phone call is nice, a hug would make my day.

My mom stands behind me every step of the way and in every situation. I've had my heart broken more than once and every time she takes my side. When I was rejected from my top choice school, she placed a plate of chocolates in front of me and recited a list of reasons why they didn't deserve to have me. She knew that my heart had been set on one thing for so long that it was going to be difficult to accept but she did all that she could to help me heal.

I think most people are undeserving of a parent’s love or at least unaware of it. It took me moving states away to Georgia to see just what I was missing. I knew I loved her before but not being with her while I am at college has been unexpectedly difficult. I know that my mom reads all of my Odyssey articles so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you Mom for letting me call you for 15 minutes in between classes and for hours on end late at night. Thank you for allowing me to vent angrily about my day and joyously tell you way too much information about class I am loving. Thank you for giving me your determination to succeed and expensive taste in clothing. You have given me everything I need and more.