My love,

I remember the first time I ever spoke to you quite clearly. I was only 18, and I was pretty clueless about most things in life, especially love. From the very first moment we started talking, you instilled a sense of calmness and trust in me that I had never felt before in my life. I knew right then and there that I could trust you and talk to you about my deepest, darkest secrets, and that not only would you keep them, but you would also be right there for me if I ever needed you. And then I needed you.

I'm not really going to go into a lot of detail at this time, but I was in trouble, and I really didn't feel like I could get out of it on my own. For days and weeks on end I came to you, asking you what you thought I should do, but you never really gave me a straightforward answer. You didn't want to make my own decisions, and so I gradually learned how to make them by myself. Every single time I spoke to you, I became stronger. You empowered me to become a better version of myself back then, and you still do to this very day.

At that point in my life, self-love was something I didn't quite understand, and to be completely honest with you, I didn't really have it at all. I thought I was ready to love you, and I like to think you were also ready to love right then. But you knew deep in your heart that I wasn't quite ready yet, simply because I didn't love myself. And if I didn't love myself, I would keep trying to rely on you to reassure me that I was worthy of being loved. The point here is that you didn't want that. You wanted me to be able to truly feel like I was worthy, with or without you by my side.

You just let time flow and you let me heal. You let me bloom and you watched me mature and grow so much in what feels like so little time now. And then, when I felt secure enough, I built up the courage to tell you that I loved you, and right after that happened, you asked me if I was sure. You really wanted to make sure I was okay with the choices I was making, and that made me feel incredibly protected. After that, I proceeded to tell you I loved you once again, and you finally answered that you loved me too.

Fast-forward to this day, three and a half years after all that played out, and I can honestly say I love you even more than I did that day. I truly believe that my love for you keeps on growing every single day, and that's only because of the fact that for over a thousand days you've taught me how to love myself, even on the hardest of days. And I'm not saying this lightly. I truly respect and admire the way that you love yourself because it truly allows you to be the best version of yourself all the time.

Now, that being said, I'm definitely not saying that I've learned all there is to know about self-love, and probably neither have you. But what I will say is that I want to keep learning about myself, about you, and about us as a couple for the rest of my life. I really believe that I'm the best version of myself when I'm with you, and I really love who we are when we're together. I can only hope that you will continue to choose me the way you've chosen me for the last couple of years, and if there's one thing I can assure you, it's that I choose you and I love you today, just like I have for quite a while now. I don't know what the future will bring, but if it's anything like the time I've spent with you, I already know it's going to be wonderful.

Thank you for absolutely everything you've ever done for me and taught me.

With love,

Your girlfriend.