Dear Mom and Dad,
Although I feel like I seldom say it, I think it is most important to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, and for every time that you went out of your way just to lessen my burdens. Growing up, I was often envious of all of my friends. It always seemed like they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. In my high school eyes I was just missing out on all the opportunities to experience life, little did I know that you both had the right idea all along.
You taught me diligence, determination, and the importance of hard work. My weekends were not spent partying, but putting in hours on end into soccer and school. I was “that nerd”, the try hard who studied when no one else did. Did I hate it sometimes, definitely, but looking back on my younger days I am so happy for all the times y’all chose to be the “bad guy”. It was because of your tough love and support that I am the person I am today. You gave me the desire to reach for more in life and never settle for anything less than my best.
I remember many instances where you forced me to abide by the rules and at the time it caused arguments between us, but rather than cave on your initial decision you stuck your ground and accepted my temporary anger. One specific instance where I felt like I was most missing out was when you didn’t let me partake in the notorious senior skip day, and I didn’t know it at the time, but that was teaching me a life lesson that has carried me through college. Forcing me to attend school when no one else was there taught me the importance of not following the crowd and not giving into peer pressure. Since then, I have been able to resist to falling into negative habits that so many college students fall victim to.
Today I stand before my family and friends as a young woman looking to make her mark on the world and it is all because of you. It is because you said no every time I wanted to go out, set early curfews so that I would stay on track with my goals, and established that everything that we did we did as a family. I was able to set standards for myself and today I can easily hold myself accountable because of what ideals you set early on. So thank you, for everything. I hope that one day when I decide to start a family I can be at least half of the parent that both of y’all were. I hope that I can overlook the need to be the “good guy” and focus on the long term need for establishing ground rules and sticking to them . You are both amazing and y’all complement each other so well. I love y’all and hope you enjoy this read.
Love Always,
Nessa
