From day one it was you and I, and our special bond.

You were the one to dress me and to do my hair.

You would play with me and let me follow you around.

You would do your makeup, or make dinner, and I loved watching you, learning from you.

I am who I am because of circumstances, influences, and different experiences, but mostly because of you.

Through the way, you treat people, to the way you talk, how you handle situations and relationships.

Through you, I learned that I can take things into my own hands, do everything on my own, and be rude to the people who are rude to me, or I can handle things out of love.

I've watched how you handle a stressful situation, a rude individual, or chaotic experience and simply show love, rather than allowing the emotions to speak for you.

You focus on building relationships with everyone around you, it has been through your kindness and love that you have a community of people all around the world who love and adore you.

I can take life by the horns, and make it into what I want it to be, or I can love people in the process and build relationships that will last a lifetime -- enjoy my life and the people around me.

I've seen that being strong doesn't mean I have to be mean, being tough doesn't mean I have to be rude, and I don't have to get what I want by bringing others down.

You've always been my peace-maker.

And though in some ways I'll never fully be able to be like you in all the areas I'd like to, I can only hope that moving forward I can become more and more like you.

You may not have a college degree you might not have run your own business or become the next world leader because you've specialized in so much more.

Rather than controlling your life, you gave yours up.

You didn't get a degree in college, you got yours in life.

You didn't run your own business, you managed a household, took care of your husband, children, and cared for the needs of others, and I may not know what that's like personally, but judging by the society we live in I'd say that's pretty hard to do nowadays.

You didn't become the next world leader, but God has used you to influence many different people's lives.

I've learned so much from you, and I hope that never stops.

Thank you for all that you do, thank you for being my very first friend, and continuing to be my friend even when no one else was or wanted to be.

Thank you for writing in my yearbook sophomore year of high school when no one else did.

Thank you for enduring so much pain I personally caused you, and still loving me.

Thank you for not just being a mom, but being my mom, and so much more than that.

I couldn't do life without you.