A Father’s Day Letter To My Dad Who Passed Away From Cancer

Dear Dad,

8 years ago I remember sitting in our living room when you called us in to have a family meeting. We all sat there as you told us that you had been diagnosed with Cancer. We were all shocked and incredibly saddened. Never did I think that 5 weeks later I would be standing in the hospital room while the numbers on the machines went to zero and I had lost the most amazing person in the world. Not a day has gone by where I have not thought about you over the past 8 years. 

As I sit here writing this letter to you and my eyes start to fill up with tears, I am reflecting on everything I have done since you left us, what life lessons I have learned and what you would have to say. My last promise to you during our family meeting was to finish college and get my degree. I wanted to do one better and get my Master’s degree. I accomplished that. On the other hand there have been some disappointments.

We always talked about starting a business together and that stuck with me. Do what we wanted and setting our own rules. I have done so these past 8 years with many ups and downs. I have lost money, I have been lied to, I have been conned, I have left projects, I have been taken advantage of, I have made the wrong decisions and I was even fired once (funny story). No matter all the negative shit that has happened on my entrepreneurial journey, I will not stop, I will NEVER GIVE UP. I have learned greatly from all of this. You never gave up. A vivid memory I have of you is lying in the hospital bed hooked up to tubes and on your PALM doing work because you always wanted to make sure that the family was always taken care of.

It sucks not having you to talk to and ask if I am doing the right thing or what you think about my ideas but deep down I know. I have been living by the quote “Don’t Dream it, BE IT,” which is from the Rocky Horror Picture Show we saw on Broadway. Another memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. You have and will always been an inspiration to me and I hope that you would be proud of what I have accomplished over these past 8 years. The best is yet to come. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my dreams.

I love you and miss you dad!