A father is a daughter’s first love, her knight in shining armor and her entire world. Dad’s doing this on their own don’t get the recognition they deserve, so this isn’t near what they do deserve, but here’s a little appreciation for the best guy in my life.

To my number one fan and my favorite Friday night date,

Thank you for working so hard to make sure that I have everything I want and need. I know I can be a brat sometimes but I just hope one day I’m able to take care of you the way you’ve taken care of me.

Thank you for never being too masculine to go into all of my favorite stores and giving me actual advice on my outfits but also telling me that I’m beautiful no matter what. There’s so many days where I hated looking at myself in the mirror but you gave me the confidence to believe in myself and always helped me realize that beauty is more than just skin deep.

Thank you for never complaining when I change your sports talk radio to a different station in the car, even though I know deep down you love Justin Bieber just as much as I do.

Thank you for being there for all the things that mom couldn’t. I know it’s probably not easy hearing me gossip about girls or talk about boys, and I’m almost positive that you don’t care about which brand of lipstick I like the best but you still listened. You didn’t just nod your head you actually listened to me and always made me feel like what I was saying mattered to you even if in reality you could care less.

Thank you for setting my standards high. You made me never want to settle and knowing that I deserve more than just some boy. The way you treat not only me but every woman has showed me what a true gentleman is, and you’ve showed me exactly how I want to be treated. Also if I can find someone that can deal with me the way you do I think it will be a miracle, so you might be stuck with me.

Thank you for never getting annoyed on the days when I call you and want to talk to you and never get mad on the days where our conversations last all of 15 seconds.

Thank you for dealing with my mood swings, I know that I’m a handful and take a lot of things out on you that you don’t deserve but thank you for never taking it personal. There’s not one fight that we’ve had that I haven’t regretted and although it kills me to admit… You were right like 97% of the time.

Thank you for always ordering something you know that I’ll like in case I don’t like what I end up ordering or always being willing to switch if I like what you ordered more.

Thank you for being the perfect role model, for treating everyone, including me, so amazingly. You are the most genuine selfless human I have ever met and you have a smile that can light up any room. I hope some of that rubs off on me, if I become half the person you are I will be so much better off.

Thank you for lying to my brothers and telling them “you don’t have favorites”, I think they know but it would break their hearts to hear you admit that it’s actually me.

Thank you for being my best friend and always picking up the phone at 2 in the morning when I need someone to tell me that I’ll be okay and that even if I was supposed to marry Heath Ledger I’ll find another nice boy someday.

Thank you for always knowing the right thing to say and knowing how to deal with my anxiety from what feels like a million miles away sometimes. Also for not getting annoyed on the days that I miss you and text you or call you 37 times just to tell you that I love you.

Thank you for being the best duet partner and always crushing Summer Nights, or Paradise By The Dashboard Light with me.

Most importantly thank you for never giving up on me, I know that doing this on your own wasn’t easy. People didn’t always understand the way you raised me but you taught me that I have to learn my own lessons, be responsible for my actions and that I had to find myself. You believed in me and that’s more than anything I could ask for in this world. You’re an absolute rockstar at the whole parenting thing, and if you asked me I think I turned out alright.