For as long as I can remember, I have always had a closer relationship to my father than to my mother. My dad and I have always been close; when I was younger, people always remarked how much I looked like him, and my dad has always and forever will be my best friend no matter how old I get. For the first eleven years of my life, he played the role of both the mother and the father because my parents divorced when I was three, so my dad was left to raise my sister and me on his own. My father not only worked a full-time job, but he was also a single father raising two little girls.

I’ve always thought the world of my father, and there is nobody in my life who I have admired more than him. He’s always had a strong work ethic, and that’s something that I think I inherited from him because growing up, he always taught me that if I want to accomplish something, I have to work hard to be able to achieve it. Since I decided to start The Up And Coming Magazine last summer, my dad has always been the person who has cheered me on the most. He reads my articles and always tells me what he likes best about them, which means the world to me.

When I was younger, I always loved performing, whether I was singing with the church choir, singing in the school talent show, performing with elementary and middle school chorus, dancing in a dance recital, or performing in a local play my dad was always the one person who supported me the most. As a kid, he repeatedly told me, “Sing loud and proud,” before I sang in front of people onstage. I don’t think there ever came a time where I got stage fright when I was onstage performing because all I had to do was look for my dad in the audience, and he would again mouth the words “Sing loud and proud,” and so I did.

I have a lot of favorite memories with my dad, but one of my favorites was when I was 15 when he and I took a trip to New York City. On that trip, we went to see Annie the Musical on Broadway, we ate cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, we ate pizza at Lombardi’s Pizza, which was the first pizza place in America, we took a carriage ride in Central Park, and we did many other fun things together while we were on that trip. The best part of that entire trip was getting to experience my first time in New York City with my dad because it was the best trip that either of us had ever been on, and I’m grateful that I got to experience it with him.

Another one of my favorite memories with my dad is getting to see musicals with him. We went to see Matilda the Musical and Waitress the Musical in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and we also got to see Waitress the Musical once in Wheeling, West Virginia. Like most men, my father isn’t always very fond of seeing musicals; however, it meant the world to me that he took me to see them because I wouldn’t have wanted to see them with anyone else.

I don’t get to see my dad very often anymore because I live six hours away from him, but whenever he comes to visit, it’s always wonderful to see him again. I’m grateful that he has not only been supportive of me for my entire life but that he is also supportive of the relationship that I have with my boyfriend. Last year, my dad came to visit my boyfriend Ian and me in Delaware for Thanksgiving, and it was the best Thanksgiving any of us had ever had because of how laidback it was. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Bob Evans and mostly sat around and talked for most of the time my dad came to visit.

I am thankful for my father because he has always loved me and supported me in everything that I have ever done. I am grateful that I get to call him not only my father but also my best friend. He means everything to me and I don’t know what I would do without him. He’s the best father that I could ever ask for.

This was written by our co-founder and editor, Hanna Perry.