Dad's sweet first day of school interviews with his daughter leave the internet in 'awww'

There is an old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun," which perfectly suits this father-daughter duo from Pittsburgh. Their bond is receiving all the affection online after the father, Ray Petelin–who goes by @raypetelin on TikTok–posted a sweet video of his daughter, Elizabeth Petelin. Ray, a meteorologist at KDKA TV, edited the footage documenting his daughter's transition every school year. The 17-year-old has now become a senior and her dad has been feeling “nervous” that the moments he shared with his daughter are going to go away, per CBS.

The emotional video, which has gone viral, garnered over 36 million views. It is a compilation of Elizabeth’s interviews every year on her first day of school. The one-minute and twenty-two-second clip starts with her spelling out her name as her father requested. As she says, “E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H,” the video slowly goes back to her kindergarten year, the very first time Elizabeth was interviewed by Ray. “I interviewed my daughter every first day of school since kindergarten. The last one is now done since she is a senior,” the text overlay of the video read.

The sweet video further shows Elizabeth’s transformation over the years, with the background swiftly changing from a brown three-seater to a dark cushioned chair and finally to a window setting. In the widely circulating clip on social media, when asked about her career, Elizabeth can be seen listing off many options as she grows up. She starts with a doctor, a teacher, a homemaker, a waitress, etc and slowly develops an interest in being an open-heart surgeon, and finally settles for a physical therapist at the end of the video. Upon hearing this, Ray gets elevated and responds, "Well, I want you to know we love you, but Mommy and Daddy love you very much and we hope you have an awesome year."

The video concludes with two pictures of his daughter posing as a kindergartener and a senior. Both Elizabeth and her father have been showered with love and appreciation since the video was shared online. People on the internet, including parents, have been reacting to the clip, emphasizing the importance of documenting their loved ones' lives. @littlebongpeep wrote, "Every profession she had in mind was aimed at helping people in one way or another. Sweet girl." @lubarreto64 added, "What an awesome thing to do, such wonderful memories for all!!" To this Ray replied, "I highly recommend others do this. It's sad to see them grow up, but exciting to see who they become!"

In an interview with CBS Mornings, Ray gave a strong message to all the young parents, "to never lose hope" in their children. "People have probably heard this a million times, but time goes by very fast. So, don’t take a single moment for granted because when all is said and done, you'll look back and think, 'How did that happen so fast? You were just a kindergartener yesterday, and now you're almost a young woman,'" he said. During the same conversation, Ray expressed how Elizabeth was excited to enter her senior year, yet at the same time, she also felt nervous about it.

You can follow Ray Petelin on TikTok (@raypetelin) for weather updates and family content.