Dear Dad, 

My rock, my soul, and my warrior that gets me through the darkest of days; oh how thankful I am for you. Your ability to remain calm despite how caught up I can get in life is the reason I keep going. 

Your ability to control my brain while I’m getting ready to attend school and to patiently wait for me while I’m attending school is an ability that I wish you could implant within my soul.

The way you are able to “block out the noise” and move on with your day without having a single doubt about the phrases and actions projected towards you is an accomplishment that continues to impress me every day. 

You continue to be the person I want to be when I grow up, someone who wants to enjoy life, but also realizes that every little step you take or word that you utter will not be your last words, because if people remembered everything you said, we would live in a perfect world. 

Even though I catch myself running in circles, you’re always there to catch me to make sure that I don’t fall to the ground and assure me that nothing in life will ever be the “end all be all.” Each and every day, you accommodate my needs and are never inclined to speed up the process of my life. 

You never feel the need to penalize me for the effort I was putting into school and remind me every day that sometimes straight A’s do not equate to success because everyone’s minds are hardwired in such unique yet unexplainable ways. 

But the word “curiosity,” for some reason, reminds me of a famous childhood memory. The one about the water bottle on the towel in the kitchen. I vividly remember doing homework on a table and seeing a blue water bottle. 

A few days later, I was in the kitchen again. The water bottle had switched from blue to red, but because I was so young, naturally I thought it was magic. When I finally asked you how it changed color, even you hadn’t noticed and you said the phrase “You are very observant.” 

To this day, you emphasize the importance of me trying to recognize the best way that I learn because, at the end of the day, everyone learns differently—whether that be different speeds or techniques, it will never determine how smart you are. 

Despite the number of times that I say “sorry” when asking you questions about your major and often repeating the same question over and over again to spark my memory, I appreciate the longevity of patience that you have instilled in me since the day I was born. 

Your personality allows me to grow each and every day, and you always choose to see the good in me despite how agitating and difficult I can sometimes be to deal with. But instead of criticizing me for the way I act, you choose to lead with patience and grit—a type of parenting that exists very rarely. 

I thank you for the calm and zen energy that you have been able to majestically pass on to me. The only thing I have left to say is this—Dad—you are truly one of those parents that come once in a timeline, and I am so grateful that I get to be your kid. 

Sincerely, 

Your youngest daughter.