AlthoughI do not look like him, my dad and I both have bad eyesight, a sense of humor,intelligence and thick brown hair. Although I may not love some of these traits(like my eyesight), I do love him.

On school days, he wakes me before thesun comes up, but lets me sleep five minutes longer if I'm really tired. Eventhough he doesn't cook very well, he still takes out the orange juice for me andtoasts my Pop-Tarts. When he gets home from work, he always asks about my testsand quizzes, even though I usually only say "They were good."

My father always listens to my problems. He makes life seem so simple,even though I know it isn't. If I am upset with my grades, he helps me in any wayhe can. He listens to me play the piano, no matter what time of day. Heencourages me to do my best at softball, my favorite sport, even though we bothknow I am not the most skilled player. I know that he will support me ineverything that I do.

My father may embarrass me sometimes, but I knowit's only because he's trying to have some fun and make me smile. He has alwayssaid that he loves my smile because it is like 32 little angels staring back athim. I never used to believe him, but now that I think about it, I know he reallymeans it.

Although nobody else in my family seems to think my father isfunny, I find him hilarious. Even when he's not in the room I find myselflaughing at him because of the funny things he says and does. I don't just lookup to my father because of his humor, love and support, but because he makes mewant to be a better person. Every day I think of what stupid thing I accidentallysaid or did, and when I relate it to my father, I realize that he would havehandled the situation much better.

Whenever he tells me about his day,I wish that I could be the nice, wonderful, funny person that he is. He makes mefeel loved. He makes me feel warm inside, like hot chocolate on a Decembermorning. Every day I try harder to be the person I want to be; a lot like myfather.

*Format based on Sandra Cisneros's vignette "A SmartCookie" in The House on Mango Street