You are completely, undoubtedly, one-hundred percent my biggest mistake and my greatest lesson learned in life thus far. You know, they say that your first love will always be alive and in your heart, and I think they’re right; but, it doesn’t mean that I am still in love with you.

You have utterly destroyed me in every way you possibly could. You keep saying that it isn’t your fault and that you love me and that you’ll do anything to have me back again - which I believe some days, but I know that I have grown as an individual from the havoc you wreaked within my body and within my mind.

Although you were my first, do not think you have any control over me anymore. I have grown and learned and prospered in my own way not correlating to you, and even though it makes you upset to see me do so well, I refuse to let you drag me down any longer.

Finding a new, refreshing start was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. You made me too scared to move on, but my supportive friends and now-current boyfriend made it easy for me to find my true self again, and helped me love myself far more than you ever could have loved me in the first place. I will always be grateful for them and what they’ve done for me.

But I will forever be grateful for you too. Your mistreatment and behavior helped me reinvent myself and helped me find some of the best friends of my life. And although you brought me down for years, I now know that it is never too late to start fresh with people that really, truly care about you.

This isn’t a letter about me trash-talking you and saying how bad of a person you are. Although this may be true in some cases, there were plenty of memories we shared that were lovely at the time. So, I do wish you all the luck in the world, and I hope you find a girl that you learn to treat right; apparently, I wasn’t the one for you. But I hope you learned a thing or two from me.