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Every year on the 1st of June, we celebrate the Global Day of Parents.

Our parents are our roots. For some of us, they are the people who brought us into this world. But for some of us, our parents are the people who raised us even if we have no biological connection with them.

Parenthood isn’t determined by blood. It’s determined by the heart.

Our parents are those who stand by our side throughout our lives. They are those who we feel a genuine heart-to-heart connection with—and this has nothing to do with the bloodline. They’re the ones who take care of our needs in our childhood and support us in the transition to adolescence and adulthood. They are the people who teach us how to love selflessly.

Selflessness is a prerequisite in order to become a parent. When we decide to undertake the parental role, we should be aware that we are about to create a connection that will last till the end of our days. We should be able to understand that we will stop only considering our own wishes and needs because we will have to think about the wishes and needs of our children, too.

We are going to be challenged in many new and different ways. We will have to find and create new kinds of balance within our lives. We will open a window to a new different type of inclusion and unity because we bind our lives with another human being forever.

As a woman who hasn’t given birth to biological children so far, by choice, I can tell that parenthood also has a universal aspect. Because of my work, I spend a lot of time with kids and I feel like every child in the world is my potential offspring. I love interacting with them with honest, unconditional love.

As a daughter, I always felt like my parents were really present in my life in their own way. My mom is an earthly presence and she’s given me roots. She has always been loving and supportive and she has shown me how to move forward steadily step by step. She taught me to go deep inside myself and build strong foundations for everything I decide to create.

My dad has always been my rock. He’s taught me how to follow my heart. He’s always been supporting me in following my dreams and trusting my intuition. He’s fun, playful, and always looking at the bright side of life. He showed me how to find a positive aspect in every situation and how to learn and grow like branches of a tree.

Together, they have managed to give me everything I would ever need to have a fulfilling and happy life. They made me feel secure, seen, and heard for who I am and that wasn’t an easy job, believe me. I can recognize that from my adult point of view.

They are always telling me how proud they are of who I am and how relieved they feel knowing that they succeeded in their role as parents. After all, that’s what parenthood is—a bittersweet symphony of happiness and anguish, a dance between giving your offspring wings to fly, and teaching them how to stay rooted at the same time!