Congratulations to Asisipho Tsotsa who is one of the 54 best nationally in the National Front Page Father Essay Contest. She was awarded a Walton's prize comprising a large box of stationery

WHAT MY DAD MEANS TO ME by Asisipho Tsotsa

My dad teaches me about God. He pays for my school fees and makes sure I'm well taken care of. I depend on him for almost everything. My dad always makes sure the doors are locked at night before he goes to bed. That's his way of making sure his family is always safe and protected.

Daddy is not perfect. I keep seeing more of that now. However, doesn't knowing our heroes aren't perfect make us love them even more? Saying my dad means the world to me would be a major clichè, because he doesn't always. Like any father to his teenage daughter, he gets on my nerves, gets too involved and tries too hard to be cool. But when he's not trying too hard, he automatically becomes the most awesome dad EVER!

Although I had a more priveleged upbringing than many, there's a lot of stuff my dad didn't do. He didn't tuck me in at night and read me a bedtime story. My dad never came home with well-thought-out gifts for each one of his children and his wife after a long day at work. He's never been the kind to drive us out to the beach on hot days for ice-cream. Even now my dad and l do not have the best father-daughter relationship imaginable. But one thing my dad always did without having to be told or reminded to do is love, protect and guide his family. He still does.

I believe everybody has their role in the family they're put into. My daddy's shown me what a real man is supposed to be like. My dad is not scared of showing emotion and contrary to popular belief, that makes him by no means any less of a man. I've seen every side there could possibly be to him, but my favourite side is when he makes me laugh. Dad has the most amazing sense of homour. It's contagious. I inherited that from him, plus many things.

They say you never really know what you have until it is gone. I've never been forced to think of what my daddy means to me, but in the back of my mind and in my heart l guess l've always known. My dad means something greater than words of any kind could explain, because with every new moment, Dad means something different.