Girl imagines what her dad would be like this Father’s Day

I don’t know who you are but I know you’re out there somewhere.

I’ve always wondered whether your name is Daniel. I don’t know why. I just do.

My whole life people have told me about how great their dads are, or what great memories they created with them, and I’ve always wondered. I’ve imagined memories we would make together if you were here.

I imagine us going to the park together and your pushing me on a swing. I like to swing high because the higher I go the more I feel like I can fly.

I like to close my eyes when I swing. When I close my eyes I feel like I am floating. But my dad would already know that because of his memory of the smiles he helped put on my face.

One day I was going to a soccer game after school and I was casually looking out the window thinking how great it would be to have a screaming dad on the side of the field.

A screaming dad who always yelled at the refs, a screaming dad who always pushed me to do better because he knew I wasn’t giving it my all, and most of all, a screaming dad who cares.

I know if you were here you would be the dad I’ve always wanted.

I imagine you would be the dad whom I could tell everything to because I know if mom heard it she would flip out or give me a life lesson.

You’d be the dad who’d take me out for ice cream just because that day was a good day.

You would know that my favorite ice cream shop is Milly’s, which is near my home.

You’d be the dad I know I could count on for anything because I know you would never give up on me. I know that somewhere out there some girls or boys actually have you as a dad and I know that if they read this essay, they would instantly know it was about you because they know, and I know, that you are an amazing person.

If I pictured you in my head this is what you would look like. You would be 6 feet 4 inches tall, buff and you would definitely have a Kenyan accent, and long Bob Marley dreadlocks. You would be physically fit despite your age because you continue to play a lot of sports, which I like.

You’d have dark brown skin, subtle blue eyes with streaks of gray. In my image of you, you would be a good-looking 47-year-old dad.

And your fashion sense would be like something you’d see off Pinterest. You would probably be a doctor because that would explain my obsession with wanting to be a surgeon, and of course my liking “Grey’s Anatomy.” I hope, somewhere, you are proud of me.

Proud of me for having the best family I could ever have, proud of me for wearing a dress, proud of me for making it to eighth-grade graduation.

Today I am a 14-year-old girl who makes people laugh, who is kind to everyone no matter what, who works hard for everything that she has and who is thankful to be who she is.

I am so thankful to be alive and know that somewhere out in the world, you are my father, and I am your daughter.

Love,

Aggie

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Girl imagines what her dad would be like this Father’s Day."