To my best friend (aka Mom),

I am taking this chance to say thank you—not only for the "Grey's Anatomy" marathons or for always encouraging me to eat that extra scoop of ice cream, but for so much more than that.

Thank you for crying with me on my bed when things got too hard and for laughing with me in the kitchen when I realized how silly those things that I once cried for were.

Thank you for always telling me that you are proud of me, because sometimes that is all that it takes to get through a tough day.

Thank you for packing me lunch every day starting in kindergarten all the way through my last day of senior year, when we both avoided the topic of moving away to college for months.

Thank you for giving me my love for organization and love for planning. I wouldn't make to-do lists every day or use three different calendars if it weren't for you.

Thank you for letting me gracefully slide through my middle school "boy crazy" phase with little judgement and for teaching me how to love the right person.

Thank you for forcing me to learn how to drive even when I refused for three months and sobbed in the kitchen while the driving instructor waited outside.

Thank you for my absolutely gullible sense of humor.

Thank you for giving me enough freedom to make my own decisions and develop into a person that I am happy to call myself.

Thank you for knowing how to make the perfect cup of tea and for making it a staple and a stress-reliever in my life.

Thank you for introducing me to books when I was so young and also for loving sappy romance novels just like I do.

Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed, smushed between you and dad until I was 8 years old.

Thank you for countless shopping sprees and for hugging me when I cried in the dressing room because I wasn't a size 0 anymore.

Thank you for being so involved in my life. I want to be just like you when I am a mom.

Thank you for gossiping with me.

Thank you for trying to help me with schoolwork, whether it be writing the letter K or solving an algebra problem, even though it typically ended in a screaming match and tears, I did appreciate it, no matter how little I showed it.

Thank you for the delectable baked goods (especially your Christmas cookies).

Thank you for teaching me that I do not have to be perfect.

Thank you for never being more than a phone call or a text message away.

Thank you for keeping photo albums of my childhood.

Thank you for passing along your sensitive soul and tender heart.

Thank you for never giving up on a task, even ones that are actually impossible you seem to find a way to make possible, even if it takes you six hours.

Thank you for always being at the finish line waiting with a smile and a hug (and your infamous clipboard).

Thank you for teaching me to be exactly who I am.

Mom, please stop apologizing for all the "bad" qualities that you think you have given to me because look at all of the beautiful ways you have touched my life. I am so proud to be your daughter. Thank you for being a stellar best friend and an even better mom.

Love Always,

Your daughter