I never needed much growing up. You always asked if I needed help and, while there are times of affirmation, it was mostly a confident "no." My response didn’t mean that I didn’t need you and it showed me that you cared, but what it did mean was that you taught me enough to handle it on my own. As a child, I didn’t know what it meant to be who I am, nor did I know who I was. Yet, with guidance and room to grow, I was carefully cultivated into the son that I am today.

There were times where I kept quiet because I was afraid I would fail, but you taught me that it was okay to make mistakes, as long as I understood how to do something better the next time around. When the next time came around, I was triumphant and absolute. It meant the world to me to hear you say, “I’m very proud of you,” despite the little reaction I might’ve given. While most things I did were for my own happiness, it was a plus to see the smile on your faces when I was excelling.

When we lost those we loved, I wanted to fall apart; in fact, you taught me that it was normal to feel that way. However, you also taught me that time heals everything. So, with a young determination and stubbornness that would last a lifetime, I got up and let time do its job. Though I still struggle with patience, it is a virtue handed down by your mothers, their mothers, and their mothers’ mothers. Time is a gift you have given me.

When I had big ambitions, you never shut them down. We sat down, talked about it as if it were a present situation, and made a future plan. I think that’s why I don’t let anything stand in my way because you never did. I was never afraid of the future or what it meant to be on my own because I knew that wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I was going to make the most of it and be the best I can be.

I’m still learning so much, but the most important lesson I’m learning is letting myself need you. Being away from home is hard, being isolated is hard, but knowing that there is a place to come to where I don’t have to let the pressure stand on top of me is what allows me to glide towards my goals. Knowing that the lessons I carry, passed down from you and to be passed down by me someday, is what pushes me towards the finish line.

I am who I am because of you. I have achieved things, known respect, picked myself up from defeat, practiced virtue, found independence, loved with my whole heart, and dreamt big because of you. Through hell or high water, there is always you and I wouldn’t change a thing.