Dear Dad,

It is currently 3 a.m. and I have two exams starting in six hours. I am okay though, lots of caffeine to keep me going and I’ve only been awake for three days. I was binge watching our favorite show but around 2:45 I decided to put on some of your music. I was jamming to the music when I began to think about how soon enough I will be home and get to wake up everyday to see your “morning person” face. I’ll get to hear “hello dear” as you pour me some tea and I will probably mumble “good morning” without even looking up but I promise you this is one of my favorite morning routines.

Recently I took a nice trip down memory lane, and I thought about my 13^th birthday and how on that day you assured me life was going to be really difficult for the two of us for the five or six years following that day. I shrugged you off and thought you had no idea what you were talking about. You were my favorite guy ever. Your shoulders were the highest place on earth and you most definitely had no kryptonite. Looking back, I finally see what you meant.

You taught me so much throughout my teenage years. And some things I didn’t even realize you were teaching me until later. Of course there was the typical dad stuff you taught me like how to drive or how to change a fishing line. The stuff I really learned from you were habits or ways of thinking. I always keep all my George’s facing the same way in any stack of money and I laugh at every single thing Ron Swanson says in "Parks and Recreation." You taught me that if you never lie you never have anything to remember and you should always be kind first because there is always a chance to be mean later. You taught me how to stand up for myself and most importantly you taught me to be independent. You raised a good daughter.

We didn’t agree on a lot of things my teenage years. Actually, we didn’t agree on anything at all. You wanted me to stay young forever and I was eager in my teenage years to grow up. Becoming more of an adult really opened my eyes to the world. You always told me I had no idea what the world was like and I should plan accordingly and you were never more right about anything ever. As I sit here with one month of college left, I look at the pictures of you and I can’t wait to be home. I can’t wait to do all the things we do together and I most certainly can not wait to be able to hug you every night before I go to sleep. These months I’ve spent at college has taught me a lot, but I really don’t think I would have made this far without you. You are, after all, my favorite teacher.

Xoxo,

Your grown little girl.