Having people in your life that care about you and love you is a great thing to have and experience throughout the course of a person’s life. When someone leaves you and keeps you disappointed, you tend to lose trust and respect towards that person. In my case my dad was that person. I suspect that I looked up to him, but of course I would have-- he’s my dad. When I was born my dad left, or so that was the story I was told. For the first six months of my life I was father less and I was left with my mother being my mother and my father. After those six months were up my mother met this amazing man named Donald. They started dating and very soon after he took us in and considered me and my sister his own daughters. He started to have a major impact on my life and I think that those impacts changed my life forever.
I probably won’t remember this whole story but this is what I do know. My father was never in my life until I was about eleven years old. It didn't take me long to figure out that he had been in prison this whole time and even the times that he wasn't in prison he wasn't anywhere near me. Throughout these years I did have thoughts and opinions on what had really happened to my dad and where was he when I needed him. Then I would think and realize that the only father that I ever needed was a few doors down from me in my house. I don’t think that the thought of him being my father actually processed in my head until one day when he came home.
This particular day I didn’t feel emotional or even physically hurt. I just felt as though I needed someone to talk to; and he was that person. I realized that I was a cry baby and maybe even a spoiled brat. I just know that when I was feeling down or feeling as though I was being treated unfairly he was always the one who would come and explain things to me. I not always agreed with him and till this day I still don’t, but we see through our differences and work it out.
It took a lot of comprehending and a lot of talking and explaining but now I know that without him I probably would not be the motivated and inspired person that I am today. He has taught me right from wrong and even picked me up when I fell off of my bike. He knows me better than I think I know myself. If you ever dream of the perfect dad I think that the image of my dad would pop up in your head. He never gets mad and never raises his voice. He makes me feel some type of security and never makes me feel less than I am. He’s perfect.
Just like many of my friends I too think that my dad has had the biggest impact on my life. Without him I think that I would not even care what my grades looked like school wise. I also don’t think that I would have much respect for my peers and would even have some resentment towards my biological father, but I don’t. In actuality I think that I am truly grateful for my father making the decisions to not be in my life, because if he had been then I would not have the opportunity to have experienced such an amazing life. And for that I thank him.