My dad has always been and always will be my hero and role model. Fellow oldest children with two (annoying) younger siblings, he was always there to relate to any struggles I had growing up. He was the first person to hold me when I was born, the person who taught me to dribble a basketball, the person who taught me to drive a car. I’ve only ever seen my dad cry twice in my life, and the second was the day he dropped me off at college for the first time. My dad has touched my life in ways that I can never express, but here are 7 things that I learned from my dad that have made me the person I am today:

1. Hard work can get you anywhere, but you have to work hard.

It’s a popular saying that all it takes is a little hard work. And that’s true, to a point. One thing I learned from my dad that I will never forget is that hard work can get you so far, but that extra 15% you can give past your all is what will really drive you to be successful.

2. Be a puddle.

This is one of stranger pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten, but the backstory makes it easier to understand. When I was younger I had really bad insomnia and would lie awake at night and stress about not sleeping. My dad always jokingly suggested I lay in bed and imagine I was a puddle, seeping out into the world. Granted, this led more often than not to having to go to the bathroom rather than sleeping, but there was a valuable lesson to be learned here: stressing will get me, or anyone, nowhere; it’s much more beneficial to take life as it comes and do the best we can.

3. Work hard, but take time to enjoy work's benefits.

My family has been blessed, and I’ve been to over 9 different countries. My mom and dad both love to travel, and they’ve truly instilled that love of culture and travel in me. Not only from these travels have I learned the importance of world cultures, I’ve seen that work has to have an endgame. Working hard and loving what you do is important, but if you don’t take time to enjoy the fruits of your labor with those you love you won’t get the full value of your work.

4. Family time is important.

How often when we were younger was our one wish in life that our parents would give us space and leave us alone? Trust me, I did too. After having the distance of coming to college, however, I’ve really seen the value in all of those little moments. Not only are the big memories from family vacations when your parent takes a billion pictures of commemorate the event important, but also the little moments when your dad comes in to grace you with a (not wanted at the time) sarcastic comment.

5. Your interests are defined by you, not anyone else.

I have one person to thank, or possibly blame, for my obsession with movies: my dad. Many of the movies, television shows, and books that I now love so much I might not have given a chance without him. When I was in first grade, he tried to get me to read Harry Potter with him. Although the message didn’t sink in then, it has since become one of my favorite book series. When I was in seventh grade, he and my brother dragged me to the opening of Captain America: The First Avenger. Now we go to each Marvel opening, usually during the Thursday screenings. In both of these cases, I was reluctant to read or see the media because I was afraid I would get made fun of for being “boyish” or “nerdy.” I know now that none of that matters, and what I like is defined by my choice and nobody else.

6. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Like most preteen girls, I had my own body image issues. While most girls would keep it bottled up, for some reason I turned to my dad. I would come home from school in tears because other girls had told me I was overweight, and most often he was the only one who could calm me down. He showed me that everyone, myself included, is beautiful in his or her own way. No one else should ever define how you see yourself, and you have to see the beauty in yourself for other people to see it too.

7. Keep the faith.

I was raised in a religious family and went to religious schools in both grade school and high school. Needless to say, faith was a large part of my upbringing. However, I never felt smothered or pressured into believing in something, it was a choice I had to make for myself after I was given all the facts and tools to make that decision. My dad showed me that religion has to be a conscious choice that you make and follow through on every day. It’s not enough to just say you believe, to be really impacted you have to act on what you believe.

Thank you, dad, for everything you’ve taught me. You’ve made me into the woman I am today.