Dear Mom,

I think it's important that I write this to you as I am now in college and our relationship is very different than it was when I was in junior high and high school.

First off, I miss you everyday. I may be horrible at keeping in touch and making sure that I call you but that has never meant that I don't miss you. I promise I will work on communicating with you more over the phone.

Second, thank you for putting up with how much I've changed, even if it's been in the slightest way. I know this past summer was not easy. Coming back from college for the first time I expected to come across some head butting and disagreements but I see how much our fights have changed and the lack of weight they carry now. Even though our fights are about the same things as they were when I was in high school, there isn't any real resentment or anger now. We may be fighting about the same old "you don't understand me" or "I'm not a kid anymore, stop treating me like a child" but I know that it isn't you trying to stop me from growing up. If anything, it's just a habit and I know the old ones die hard.

Thank you for not taking me seriously when I say things I don't mean. I know for a fact you will probably be the only person in my life who will forgive me in a heartbeat. No matter the level of intensity our disagreements get, all I really want to the next day is go back to the way we were, which includes binge watching Grey's Anatomy or going shopping together.

I also want to thank you for how willing you have been to adjustment. I know the distance is not easy and I want to thank you for being strong for the both of us. I promise that no matter how fast or how much I grow up, I will still be my weird, goofy self who will always try to come up with silly jokes and make you laugh at the most random things. You allow me to talk to you about deeper and more controversial subjects and my even more complicated outlook on where I feel like I am in life, and I am so grateful.

This letter to you is different because I am not only thanking you but I am also applauding you.

I may have talked a lot about how hard it was to leave my friends, my home, and the family behind, but that does not even compare to what was happening on your side. The fact that you can resist not calling me every single day and not coming to get me and take me home every weekend shows who the strong one really is. I can't fathom how overwhelming the shift was from seeing me everyday to only seeing me over the holidays.

Thank you for trusting me more and giving me more freedom to venture further away from home. I know not just anyone would let their daughter go on a road trip with friends to another state and be okay with it so, thank you.

Lastly, I want to thank you for not trying to change who I am and what I want for my future. I know some of the things I want may not be conventional and that it might be hard to accept because of how traditional your upbringing was but thank you for reassuring me that all you want for me is to be happy. I may be considered an adult now but I'm still trying to figure things out, and I couldn't do that without knowing that you'll be there if I ever just need some help or encouragement. Whatever success I find in the future, I know it's because you are the one who helped me find the path to get there.

I'll see you soon.

Your daughter,

Stephanie