When you're a young girl, you don't always fully appreciate all of the women in your life. You are proud to be Daddy's girl, dream of the day Prince Charming will sweep you off your feet, are smothered with reasons to see other women as competitors and are unwittingly bred to exude jealousy.

Sometimes, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by compassionate, resilient women who help to shape us into miraculous women. I am someone who has been so lucky (though I'm not 100% miraculous yet, still pretty close.) The following is a thank you letter to all of those women in my life.

Dear ______,

Thank you for always being there. And no, not always with what I want to hear. Thank you for being honest with me, for putting me in my place when I fell out of line and for always managing to bring me back up above water.

Thank you for encouraging me to take every opportunity, regardless of the difficulties. Thank you for making me love U.S. History and Earth Science and English. Thank you for making me love reading and learning new things. Thank you for saving me from myself and calling my mom about the cuts on my arms.

Thank you for giving me nieces and nephews and such an abundance of love. Thank you for staying up with me until the sun comes up to talk about nothing. Thank you for driving 5 hours into the fucking woods because you knew I needed someone.

Thank you for standing up for me. Thank you for helping me learn that a woman's worth is not determined by the price of her clothes, but the wealth in her brain. Thank you for buying me books. Thank you for letting me watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when I was 5 and buying me toy swords when I wanted them instead of Barbies.

Thank you for calling me beautiful and for saying how much nicer my hair looks pulled back because you can see my gorgeous face. Thank you for showing me how to dress so no one could tell how heavy I was. Thank you for spending 10 hours with me at the outlet mall while I cried because nothing fit. Thank you for letting me look as beautiful as you on your wedding day.

Thank you for preparing me for men and their unwanted advances. Thank you for showing me that trick where I can put keys between my knuckles when I'm walking home alone at night. Thank you for making me understand that him saying "I love you" doesn't always mean he loves me but that maybe he wants to simply fill the void between my legs. Thank you for teaching me that that void is mine and no one else's.

Thank you for showing me that love is a two-way street and that a man who truly loves me will respect me (and maybe be a little terrified of me too.) Thank you for making me value the love I have to give and being selective with where I allow it to end up.

Thank you for being strong, funny, honest, caring and everything in between. Most importantly, thank you for being you and letting me bear witness.

All my love,

Jess