Every parent has a handful of horror stories about their teenage daughters. We've all heard the classic sayings about boys being hard to raise until their teens, and girls being angels until they get to their teens. Minus my attitude and constant state of annoyance, I think my mom has had it pretty easy. I may be biased, but I think I was (am?) a pretty good kid.

The first couple years of high school consisted of a lot of head-butting between my mom and me, as I'm sure did every other teenage girl. I honestly couldn't even tell you what it was about, other than the fact that every little thing my she said or did annoyed me, regardless of the situation (sorry Mom).

But as I grew more independent and got a job, license, and car, my perspective on my mom changed. She respected my newfound independence and nagged and coddled me less and quickly became less of a foe and more of a friend.

But it took until my freshman year of college to realize that my mom really is my best friend. No one single person knows you better, loves you more, or looks out for you the way a mom does. Though it's tough to admit it at times, moms are always right. I don't even know how it's possible, but it is. A mother's intuition is a crazy thing.

I'm not ashamed to say that my mom is my best friend and that I cried (both times) when she dropped me off at college. And after each round of recruitment - the most stressful event of my life to date - I called her and told her every part of my day while she patiently listened. Before preference rounds, when we weren't allowed to use our phones, I wanted nothing more than to call my mom and talk things through with her, because once again, mother knows best.

I know I can always count on my mom to talk things through with. I leave every conversation we have feeling better, happier, more uplifted, yet more grounded. I go to her for any problem I have, any decision I need to make, any guidance I need - and I always come out more calm and with a plan of action in mind.

We are all more like our mothers than we like to think. But in all honesty, I'm proud and not ashamed to admit it. Our mothers are by our sides from day one - they will always be on our team, they are our biggest proponent, they will always understand us, they will never judge us (well, maybe), and they will always love us unconditionally.