Based on the headline, most of you may think "oh she must have a bad relationship with her mom" but I can assure you that is not the case. My mom is my mother first and my friend second, and that has just always been the way things were between us, and I would not have it any other way.

Growing up, I would see other girls in my class who would call their mom their best friend. I never felt this way about my mom, not because I did not love her or because we did not get along, but because I do not see my mom as my best friend. Now take what I will say in this article as my own opinion. I am not saying that having your mom as your best friend is a bad thing or the wrong type of relationship; it is just not the relationship I have with my own mother, and that is ok.

I think my mom and I are very similar, but also can be very different which can cause us to butt heads sometimes. My mom is the first to tell me when I made a mistake, or a bad choice and can have very high expectations of me sometimes. In turn, my mom is one of the first people to support me and to give great advice. I think that is what makes our relationship stronger, her ability to challenge me, but also support me fully and guide me.

I believe that a parent's role, specifically a mother's role, is very different than the role of a best friend. Yes, my mom and I will sometimes hang out and I come to her with a lot of my problems, but she is still my mom who, as much as she would hate me saying, is older and is at a different stage of life as my own. Yes, she was 19 once and in college which makes for great advice, but no offense to her, she should not be hanging out with college kids. She has her own set of friends and I have mine. I compare us being in the role of best friends to me being best friends with one of her friends and her being best friends with one of my friends, which to me just seems odd.

For me personally, I do not think I could look up to my mom as much as I do if she were my best friend. As I said before, I believe that my mom is an authority figure, and in my opinion, this role cannot mix with the role of best friend. I think that if she were my best friend she would not be able to be as open and honest with me as she is, let alone discipline me because she does not have to worry about hurting my feelings or upsetting me as most friendships take into account. Imagine being disciplined by your best friend or one of your peers, it just seems inappropriate.

I love my mom very much; however, she is not my best friend, she is my mom and that is how I prefer it. She is truly the best, full of unique, but encouraging catch-phrases and a lot of southern hospitality. She inspires me to be the best version of myself possible.