As my birthday fast approaches, I cannot help but to reflect on my life—most importantly all the love I have received from my parents. Family has always been an important part of my life. Moreover, I feel lucky to have such caring and awesome parents. They always make sure we all stay close and that my sister and I never go without love.

I also want to take this time to give a shout out to all the other awesome parents out there. You all are amazing! The fact that you put your children’s needs before your own really gives me hope for this world. And I want you to know that I see you. You never ask for praise or attention for all the hard work you do.

But this is me giving that to you because you deserve it.

To all the wonderful mothers out there, I salute you. You bust your butt to make your kids happy and respectable people as they grow older, you teach them right from wrong, and most of the time you never have any time to yourself. You have an amazing job. I may not be a mother myself, but I do have one and she is one of the best people I know. I may be biased, but she is the best mom in the world. Nonetheless mothers, I want you to know that if you think your kids hate you, or you are just having a rough time in your relationship with them right now, I’m here to say that no matter what, they will always love you. However, I don’t want to leave out the moms that are having a great time with their relationships with their kids because your kids will always love you too. I'm not a mother, but I am a daughter, and I don’t know what I would do without my mom. I know I cannot be the only child out there who thinks this way.

Now to the wonderful fathers out there, I salute you. Just like a mother, you would do anything to see your children happy. You also sacrifice so much to give them what they need in life. When I was growing up, I would always ask my dad why he needed to go to work and he would always tell me, “To buy you new shoes." There was so much love in that one statement. You may think that you are overlooked, but take it from a daughter of a great father, you are never overlooked! You are just as loved and needed as a mother. Sometimes, we may take you for granted—I know I have a few times but, at the end of the day, we will always need our dad. You deserve just as much praise and attention as the wonderful mothers in this world. And just know—your children will always love you!

So take a moment to really appreciate your parents and/or your children. We need more of you in this world. We need more love in this world.