To the boy I never actually dated but who treated me like a girlfriend,

You broke my heart. Or, at least, I thought you did. You strung me on, treated me like your girlfriend without giving me that title, and eventually just left me hanging. It hurt, and I thought my heart was broken.

But, as time went on, I realized that it really didn't hurt all that much, and you really weren't a big deal. You prepared me for my first real heartbreak. The pain from you will never come close to that. So, thank you for that trial. You showed me that I was stronger than I thought.

Thank you for showing me what love wasn't. At 15, I thought I'd found a boy who really loved me for me — stupid, I know. I thought you really cared.

As I look back at our "relationship," though, you didn't care. You never tried or made any effort. I was the one who initiated all of our conversations, I was the one who always pushed to see each other.

At the time, you made me feel happy. I finally had someone who told me they liked me and they thought I was cute and pretty. Why did I ever let that dictate a relationship?

Loneliness should not be a reason for pursuing a relationship — God should be.

When God puts someone on your heart and prepares you for them, and it works out in His timing, that's when you should pursue a relationship. Please learn from my mistakes, and don't just "like" someone because they call you pretty or tell you things that sound nice.

As nice as you seemed, you never put in that effort to get to know me. I always asked about you, but I had to pull teeth to get you to be interested in getting to know me.

That should've been my first clue.

You made "love" seem like a chore or a job. Always working around your schedule, only there when it was convenient for you. Somehow, I stupidly bought it and fell into your trap.

Since you, though, I've learned about true love. Jesus. Jesus is real love. My worth is not in you, a boy who doesn't even care enough to know my dog's name.

My worth is in Jesus Christ. He is love.

Love is patient and kind. It makes time for each other but is also understanding when each person is busy. Love pushes you to be the better version of yourself, along with that person.

Love encourages you and makes you feel that feeling like you're at the top of a rollercoaster at the same time you feel like you're snuggled up on your couch on a Sunday night.

It is risky but comfortable. Real love hurts, but it also makes you soar. It's so worth it.

It's so much greater than some random boy you met on Snapchat calling you "hot" and telling you that you're "so pretty." It's about the friendship and finding your best friend before anything else.

When you find your best friend and you're comfortable, everything else will fall into place.

I will be honest, I regret our relationship. I am grateful for the lessons I've learned from you, but I regret letting you into my life and part of my heart.

I should've walked away from you from day one. That was the day I knew it was never going to work, but I still tried, and it's one of my biggest regrets.

So, to the boy who led me on for a few months, and then just left me on read, thank you.

I was angry, and I was hurt. But you've opened my eyes in ways that they never would've been if you didn't come into my life.

You confused me to no end and for a few days, I thought it was "the end." Again, how stupid, right?

As time went on, I saw you really weren't a big deal. I didn't miss you. I didn't need you. It was never the end.

The end with you was simply the beginning of something much, much better.

I can never thank you enough for that.

You helped open my eyes to Jesus and what He was doing in my life. You distracted me for a while, but in the end, you pushed me right on track. Thank you.

My thing with you opened my eyes to the better man who was right in front of me all along. I am so grateful you "broke my heart." I am a better woman now because of it.

p.s. Please don't play with other girls emotions. Don't play games. It's not worth it. Don't hurt any more girls just because you're bored.

I hope you find your real love one day, and I hope you find Jesus' love. Just please don't go around trying to rack up a certain number of ex-"girlfriends".