To the girl who keeps driving by his house, wondering where he is. To the girl who stays up way too late at night wondering if it could have been different. To the girl who keeps refreshing her newsfeed trying to see what he's doing. This is for you.
Every once in a while—what feels like once in a lifetime—we find someone. Sometimes we don't even know they're that someone until they're gone. You know who I'm talking about. You probably met through a mutual friend. Maybe they were the new kid. Maybe you saw them from far away and found a way to meet them. Maybe they asked a friend of a friend about you. It doesn't matter how, but you met.
At first, things were weird. You couldn't quite put a finger on it. "Have I met him before?" you may be wondering, as he reads your mind or knows exactly how you're feeling when you reply to a text with no punctuation. You ignored all the signs. This was just casual. Just good friends. You didn't listen to the words of the songs he sent you. You didn't appreciate those late night drives or phone calls. This was just someone that walked into your life who seemed to know exactly what you were thinking. Who you couldn't help but tell all your secrets to late at night.
You shared passions. Goals. Fears. Words that have never left your wandering mind were now out in the open. It was scary. But you ignored the fear because he made you feel like you were flying, right?
Then comes the fall.
The day when the "good morning" texts stop. The day when the pictures don't make you smile anymore, but now they make you cry. They day where you can't even wave to them when you see them. The day that he meets someone. The day that you regret all the words you never said. All the signs you never saw.
But here's the thing. You're going to be OK. He taught you more about yourself than you could ever have imagined, and you don't even know it yet. Don't regret, don't be mad—just be grateful. And forever be silently rooting them on from the sideline, but know that they can't be on yours anymore. To that girl, to the broken hearts, to the tears, to the empty ice cream tubs, to you: I know you. I was you. But now I'm better than I've ever been.
Soon you'll realize all the stress he caused you every day when you were confused out of your mind. And you'll see that new reflection staring back at you so free, so ready to move on. Soon you'll be able to see his car and not even falter. Soon you'll be able to see them and smile, because you're happy he's happy. Soon you'll have your own thing that makes you happy. Soon you'll be that girl.
