Amanda

I’ve always admired your strength,

but I think what I admire most is the way you move through life.

We were so young when I first saw just how much a person could carry and still keep moving forward. Even then, you showed a determination that has stayed with you throughout your life. You kept showing up, kept going after what mattered to you, and never let one chapter decide what the rest of your story could look like.

And you've continued to do that ever since.

You set goals, go after them,

and crush them like nobody I’ve ever seen. You went to college, earned your degree, built a successful career, and created a life of your own. I've watched you continue to grow into the woman you are today, and there's something about that kind of determination that I will always admire.

You're a force, Amanda. A little bit relentless, a whole lot capable, and the kind of person who doesn't wait around for life to happen to her. You figure things out. You take the next step. You make things happen.

And I think that's pretty damn badass.

What I admire about you hasn’t changed,

but with time, I think I've come to appreciate it in a different way. I see not just the determination, but the life you've built with it. The things you've accomplished, the person you continue to be, and the two beautiful daughters you're raising.

I imagine there's no shortage of strength in the example you set for them. They get to watch their mom go after what she wants, meet life's challenges, and keep building a life she believes in. But they also get to see your kindness, and the way strength can exist alongside a good heart.

I hope they grow up knowing they can be both. That they can be ambitious and compassionate, determined and gentle, and never feel they have to sacrifice one to be the other.

Because that's something worth passing on.

When I think about you,

I think about how much life there is to live beyond the things that change us. How much we can still reach for, accomplish, experience, and become. I think about the importance of continuing to want things for ourselves, of believing there's more ahead, and of having the courage to go after it.

You've reminded me that strength isn't always something we have to announce. Sometimes, it's simply in the way we live—in the goals we pursue, the lives we build, the people we love, and the determination to keep going.

Thank you for saying yes to being part of something that means so much to me.

I hope these photographs feel like a little piece of the way I see you—and that you enjoy them, keep them, share them, print them, or use them however you wish.