First things first. Happy birthday!! I hope you are having a wonderful time in Hawaii. You do so much for me, so take this time to relax!! As a gift to you, here are six reasons why I'm thankful for you.

1. Cooking meals 

Ever since I was little, I always had activities going on every single day. In order to be successful in everything that I did, I needed food to keep me energized. You made all of that possible. Without the food on the table, I wouldn't be able to do even half of the things that I did.

2. Texting me every day

From my first night of sleeping in the dorm, you texted me "good morning" and "good night" every single day. Once you explored the different Gifs, you added those to the daily texts. I find that funny and it honestly brightens my day. The gesture may seem small, but it means a lot.

3. Taking care of me

This past summer, I started a new medication. We both found out that it was the wrong one. I got horrible heartburn and I was up all night. It then caused me to get super emotional and I cried to you for two days straight for no reason. I slept on the couch for almost a month. This was a few short weeks before I had to move in to college. I was worried I wouldn't get better then. However, you were there throughout it all. You helped me get better and calmed me down and reassured me that everything will be okay.

4. Supporting me in whatever path I choose to take

Going into college, I wasn't exactly sure what major I wanted to declare. After a while, I thought I had even more interests regarding Education which would make it difficult to choose a specific concentration. I have no found that all of it was second guessing myself. When I told you that I got more interests and didn't know what to do, you replied, "take a couple classes to figure it out." I realized that you don't really care what path I take as long as it's something I'm passionate about and that it makes me happy.

5. Being organized and helping me transition into college

Since the beginning of the summer, you started helping me shop for all of the things that I would need for college. We did it in small chunks, so it didn't seem like a huge chore. Even if it was a huge chore, doing it in 10 different steps was a lot better than doing it the week before. There were times we forgot things and we had the opportunity and time to get it in the near future. You made lists for everything and we reflected on what the next step was. Just thinking about all of the things I needed was overwhelming but the way you helped me organize it and go about how to start made the process so much easier.

6. Always there for me

Especially since I'm away at college, you have helped me with every issue that I told you about no matter how big or small it was. I wasn't even on campus for one week and I had an issue I was struggling with. I was having bad anxiety which caused super bad stomach pains. It was past midnight and I was freaking out over it, so I woke up my RA and got some medical help. While I was terrified, it helped me calm down knowing that it wasn't anything super serious. However, I wasn't an adult at the time so I needed your permission for me deciding not to go to the hospital. By that time, it was 1:30 in the morning. I had no choice but to call you at that time. You talked to my amazing RA and I about what was happening and told me the steps to take in order to go to sleep. You were there for me and I appreciate everything you have done throughout my life and my transition into college.

These are just a few of the many reasons to thank you for everything that you do. I do not know where I would be today without you. You have been there for me since day one and I'm so grateful to have a person to look up to like you. Relax and have fun. Even though we can't celebrate on your special day, I will be there in spirit. I hope you have the best birthday ever and I will see you for Family Weekend!