Every man, I feel, tries to measure up to their father. And in that sense, I feel like I'll never be quite the man that the one before me was/is and I am both relieved and destraught in that aspect, but I feel that the father should respect the path that the son has chosen to take, regardless the astute stupidity that they suffer from the consequences of that path. Point being, I wish I could tell my dad exactly how much I respect him and appreciate the path he laid before me even though I did not take it. He is, as cheesey and expected as it is to say it, one of the biggest and influential parts of my life. I only hope that I could ever be half the man that he was before he even got to be my age, much less the man that is a part of my life now. So to the dads and fathers everywhere that have always been there for the children they've made and supported with unconditional love, thank you. From one coward son and the rest. You are both more and the men that we deserve, stubborn as we may be.