You read it on every girl's Instagram post on Mother's Day, their birthday, pretty much any chance they get to brag about their mom: "My mom is my #1 best friend!" But you've also heard the backlash that comes with that meaningful sentence. "Good parents aren't their kids' best friends. That's just irresponsible. I'm your parent, not your best friend."

Stop right there, naysayers. I'm here to give you the cold, hard truth: my mom is my absolute best friend, and because of that our relationship is stronger than any mother-daughter relationship I've seen.

Because my mom established a loving, trusting relationship with me from a very young age, there's not a whole lot that I won't tell her. She has never pressured me to give her details about any aspect of my life because she knows if I want to share, I will. She knows that she raised me to see right from wrong, taught me to use my head and think about what Jesus would do, and to follow my heart. She knows that I am human, and I will make mistakes despite her teachings. I know that no matter how badly I screw up, she will be there to pick me back up, no judgments or "I told you so's" in sight.

My mom is my mother first, but she is also my best gal pal, my numero uno, my partner in crime, my other half, the Shaggy to my Scooby, the ying to my yang; she is my everything.

No, we don't always see eye to eye. No, we don't always go to bed happy with each other. And no, she definitely doesn't agree with all my decisions, but she chooses to love me regardless.

But at the end of the day, I know that I can go to her with anything, for anything, and she will never let me down. She will never turn me away because of the choices I make. She will never wonder where I am at night because I voluntarily tell her who's house I'm at. I will never wonder if she loves me, because she tells me everyday. I will never be without a best friend because she will always be right behind me. She will wake up in the morning and kiss me on the forehead before work and know that I will go to all my classes and be responsible. I will look in the mirror and know that the girl staring back is the spitting image of her mom, and I will be proud.