Dear Mom and Dad,

I don’t think the words “I love you,” do enough justice when it comes to how I feel about the both of you. Love is a pretty powerful word to throw around anyway, but when it comes to describing my feelings towards you, the L word just simply is not enough. You have done so much for me these past twenty years, and it’s because of you that I’ve grown into the person that I am today and the person that I am bound to be. You deserve everything in the world and more; you’re amazing parents and I’m writing this letter to the both of you to let you know how I feel.

One of the most important things that you taught me while growing up, and still to this day, is that your family will always love you no matter how many mistakes you make, what kind of trouble you get into, or what bad decisions you may make. In middle school and in high school, I struggled with a math class and I feared that I wasn’t going to be able to pass it. You helped and encouraged me to approach my teacher and ask for the help that I needed, and not once did you make me feel like I wasn’t intelligent or that I was a bad kid, because I wasn’t. I was just a kid that needed to learn how to speak up. And because of you, I learned how to do that.

There were times where you got frustrated with me when it came to what I was doing after high school. I didn’t have it quite figured out like some of the other people in my class did, but you were patient with me as I explored my options and researched on what would be best for me, even if it meant four college tours and three changes in majors. At the end of the day, I always knew that you would be my biggest supporters, no matter what college I attended or what I chose to major in. You raised me to explore my options and to trust myself when it came to making important decisions like colleges and majors.

Growing up (and today even), there have been a lot of things that you have done for me over the years. Prepare yourselves to read this list; I’ve got a few (or a lot) of things that I’d like to thank you for.

• Thank you for taking my friends and I to those concerts in high school (and college)! Even though I know you didn’t necessarily like having to drive 30 minutes downtown at 11 pm to pick me up, you did it anyway, because going to those concerts made me happy, and that’s all you ever wanted to see.
• Thank you for your opinions, on everything. Your opinions are two of the most important opinions that matter to me; so I almost always come to you first on big decisions in my life. You always tell me if it’s a good choice, or a bad one, and I always appreciate your guidance through life.
• Thank you for taking me on all those college tours. I know it seemed pointless to go on those tours, and tour the dorms and class buildings just for me to not go to them, but the trips sure made for a lot of memories and bonding time with you. Those are memories that I will always treasure forever.
• Thank you for teaching me how to apply for jobs and how to prepare for job interviews. These are two very important skills that I will need to have in the near future when I graduate college and start applying for full time jobs; so thank you, for making it a little easier.
• Thank you for driving me everywhere. Sometimes you have to make adjustments to your schedule and go out of your way to take me places, and sometimes I don’t thank you enough, but now I hope you know that I truly do appreciate all the times you take me places.
• Thank you for helping me with books in college. Textbooks in college can be a little pricey, and a little hard to afford when you’re working at a minimum wage job even though you’re putting in so many extra hours. When I came to you for help with paying for my textbooks, you helped me in a heartbeat and always made sure I had everything I needed to succeed.
• Thank you for showing me how to fill out my taxes. This one isn’t really needed in this list, but it’s a life skill that most people my age still don’t really know how to do, so I want to thank you for prepping me with things that I’ll have to know how to do later in life.
• Thank you for always trusting me with my decisions. I know that I’ve made a few decisions in the past when It came to school whose possible outcomes have worried you, but just know, that I made these decisions with guidance from my teachers and my advisers. I made them with my best interest and academic future in mind, and I just want to thank you for trusting and supporting me when I decided on something.
• Thank you for always supporting me. High school and college (so far) has been quite the adventure. I’ve had three jobs already, graduated from high school and community college, and I’ve changed my major three times. There has been a lot of frustration, a lot of mind changes and a lot of emotions throughout these last few years, but not once have you doubted me. You always supported me no matter what I had my mind set on.
• Last, but most importantly, thank you for teaching me how to love unconditionally. I know that I’ve always been a little different growing up, and when I was younger, I didn’t want to be different, I wanted to fit in, but you taught me to love unconditionally and to never judge a book by its cover, you never know how wise, smart, kind, and friendly a person may be until you really get to know them

I could go on forever with a list of things that I want to thank you for, but if I did, this letter would probably be five miles long. But, I want you both to know that I am truly appreciative and thankful for everything that you do for me. You both are hardworking, dedicated individuals that are always keeping a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs and warm beds to sleep in. I think that it’s pretty clear that I get my work ethic from you guys; you’ve taught me that if I work hard, I can achieve anything. It means a lot knowing that you’re proud of me and that you’re so supportive in any and everything that I do. I can only hope to be as half a good a parent as you guys are to me when that time comes. Mom and dad, I love you, so, so much.

Love,

Megan