By Adriana Higuera
Queen Victoria of England once said, 'None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of SUCH a Father who has not his equal in this world-so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don''t be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him, none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal.'
On Sunday, Father''s Day will celebrate dads and other outstanding male figures who have made a difference, who have been kind and helpful and who have tried hard to show their love.
Whether a child is 4 years old or 24, he or she will always have something good to say about his or her father. It is interesting to see how as a child grows, perception of dad changes. Although the dynamics of the relationship may vary slightly, and although arguments are sure to ensue, a father will never stop loving his child and a child will never stop loving his or her father.
'I love my dad because he is so silly,' said Juliette Dignum, a 5-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif. 'He likes to play games with me and he is really funny. He makes jokes and does silly stuff.'
When one is a child, dad is nothing short of a superhero; he is invincible, and pretty much the most awesome person in the world. As one gets older and enters the teenage years, the idea of dad as a superhero invariably changes, and one sees that dad is not perfect, that he has his faults, and that maybe there will be disagreement with his view of how the world should be.
'I love my dad because even though we don''t get along most of the time, he is always there for me,' said Ana Cristina Galindo, 16, of Castro Valley, Calif. 'We are both hard-headed and we fight a lot, but I know he is a good guy. He is always watching over me, and he tries to be my friend as well as my dad.'
It is probably not until the college years, when people start moving away from home and creating their own independent lives, that dad''s greatness really starts to hit home again.
'I take after my dad in a lot of ways,' said Brandon Stone, 23, an advertising and French major from Spanish Fork. 'My friends tell me that all the time, and for me it''s a huge compliment. He has always been an example to me of service and love, both at home and in church. I remember that throughout my mission my dad would write me weekly. Often, he would tell me stories from his own mission. They were always timely and appropriate for the situation I was in, and they seemed to give me that little boost I needed at times.'
Dustin Wheeler, 22, an exercise science major from Rocklin, Calif., said his dad is a special man because his father knows a lot and teaches him a lot, from understanding a spiritual topic to how to fix a car. He said a lot of how he plans to be as a father is built on the relationship he established with his father while he was growing up.
'My dad is a worker,' said Jordan Pendergrass, 23, a geography major from Chandler, Ariz. 'He gets things done, whether it''s church, work or family. If there is something to be done, he does it. He is a doer, and that has been a good example to me because there are a lot of non-doers in the world.'
Ben Green, 24, a nutritional science major from Austin, Texas, said his father has always been a strong example of respect, honesty and especially love. He said his father''s love for his mother has been a great example of what love should be.
'I love Father''s Day,' said Kaycie Maurer, 20, a media music and world dance major from Hilton Head Island, S.C. 'I think it''s wonderful we celebrate a day for the fathers in this world. ... The things I could say about my daddy are endless! He is such a wonderful example to me. He is so patient, probably the most patient person I know. He has always been a great provider. ... He puts the needs and wants of his family before himself and that is a great testimony to me of how a good father should be.
'I know I can go to him for anything. He is easy to talk to and I love sharing things about my life with him because I know he genuinely cares and loves to hear what I am doing while at school.
'He makes me laugh and brings the light-heartedness to a house full of girls, which can obviously be stressful sometimes. He helps put things back in perspective; I hope I can someday marry a man that shares those same qualities I love about my daddy.'