Ever since I was little, I would always see my dad work really hard for me and my little brother. He would always do the best he could, and he’d always do it with a smile on his face, so I want to grow up to be a father like him. One that my children can depend on, and they can look up to me and feel proud to have me as a role model.

Growing up, my dad had a rough time taking care of my brother and me. My mom had most custody of us, so we were only allowed to see him every other weekend, and he was new to being a single parent, so he didn’t really know what to do. That being said, he did a great job.

It was hard for him at the time because he didn’t have his own place yet, so we would sleep in the garage of my uncle’s place while seeing him. That didn’t stop my dad from wanting to see us. Each and every time I saw him, he would play tag with my brother, and we would play hide and seek in the backyard.

Those weekends were the best. When my dad could, he would buy us toys or a coloring book and a new box of crayons, and when school started, he got me one of those really big boxes of crayons, which I really appreciated because then I had almost every shade of all the colors.

His job at the time wasn’t good because of the long hours and the little money he would earn for those hours, but he always seemed so happy to see us. Sure, he didn’t get us all the things we wanted, but because of him, I’ve learned what it truly means to appreciate what I get. I thank him for that, and there’s no better dad I could have asked for.

As time began to pass and I began to get older, our once-every other weekend visits began to become weekly. This meant that one week I would be with my mom and one week I would be with my dad. My dad started to take on side hustles, and he would take me with him from time to time to teach me how to do the things he would do so that later I wouldn’t need to pay someone else to do it for me and so I could help him when I got older.

He’s the reason I know so much, and he taught me Spanish, which is and will continue to be very helpful as I go through the rest of my life. I love my dad. He is truly the best.