"Wait, so, how is that your dad?"
If I got a dollar for every time I was asked this question growing up, I would probably be on a nice vacation rather than stressing about paying for next semester's textbooks. You see, explaining my family can be a bit complicated compared to someone with the simple two parents. I have my mom, who is literally the most perfect person ever in my eyes and biological father who left the picture when I was about 10-years-old. And then my dad who is not related to me by blood.
In my eyes, and from my experiences, being a parent has very little to do with being blood related to the child. Yes, you created this human being with your own DNA, however there is a huge difference between being a biological mother/father and being an actual mother/father. When I was one-years-old, a man started to date my mom and begun to entirely change my life. From what my mom tells me, from the beginning he treated me as though I were his child. There were never any questions about it, I was his daughter and he was my father. This man stepped up and raised me as his own. I'm not talking cooked and cleaned for me and then called it a day. I'm talking took me to every father/daughter dance and became one of the greatest role models that I have to this day.
So here's to all of the people in the world that have stepped up as a parent figure in a child's life. If you want to talk about bravery, that's it right there. Taking on a role that he/she didn't necessarily have to have anything to do with in the first place.
After having to explain a million times why exactly I called this man that is clearly not my biological father my dad, I learned something very important: I don't need to explain anything.
I call him my dad because that's exactly what he is. He has exceeded the role that any father should fill and has pushed me to become the determined and success driven individual that I am today. Being related to someone is so much more than sharing DNA.
"The bond that links your true family is not of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's lives." -Richard Bach
So thank you Dad, for not only stepping up as a father figure when I was so young, but for becoming an amazing father and never looking at me as anything less than your true daughter.
