At the tender age of 7, or maybe it was 8, my parents decided that they were better off as friends. At that time, they decided that they needed to live separately. At that time, they divorced.

Now, before I go any further, I LOVE my parents and wouldn't trade them for the world. When I was younger, I would wish that they would be together, I would wish to have a "normal" home life. But as I grew older, I realized that because of them splitting, I grew in to who I am today. And I am VERY thankful for all they have done for me and will continue to do for me.

With that said, there are multiple consequences of dealing with divorce at a young age. I found myself moving around, not establishing healthy relationships or friendships with very many people. I was insecure in relationships for the fear that people would leave. When I was about 13, I decided that I would never settle for less than someone who could deal with my flaws and endless emotional outbursts. I religiously told people "I wasn't allowed to date". The lie detector determined, that was a lie.

I didn't want to date. I didn't want to be rejected. I didn't want people to leave.

It wasn't until I was 16 that I decided to test the waters in the dating scene. All my friends were doing it, so why not?

My first relationship taught me a lot. It taught me that teenage boys have no idea what they want in life. It taught me that words can mean so little when you are 16. It taught me that, I deserved more (no offense to my first boyfriend, you've changed a lot and have turned into a decent guy).

After my first boyfriend and I broke up, I found myself not as upset as I thought I would be after my first breakup. I thought it would be more devastating... but it wasn't. I actually was slightly relieved. About 5 months later, I started dating the next guy. Again, no offense, but it was more for feeling left out than anything. All my friends were dating and he was cute. The relationship, however, would have never worked. We were completely different people and it different parts of life. I was in my "rebellious" stage, and he was way more mature than I was.

After about 4 months that relationship ended. I never gave him a real reason (again, a sign of my immaturity).

But I met "the one" as most refer to it. I struggled believing in "the one" because it was so rare in my life. People had multiple "the ones".

I learned that I wanted this guy in my life and I deserved it. So, I broke up with that second boyfriend in hopes that someday, this guy would notice me. I know, it was crazy right? Especially when you consider that he was flirtatious, 14, and I had only known him for a couple months. Why did I break up with the older boyfriend who was mature, for this 14 year old high school freshman? Because I knew.

But I was scared.

I knew he was the one I would marry (and I did) but I was fearful because I had seen so many relationships fail before and I was young and naive. Who's to say that I knew what love was? Who was to say I wasn't too young (everyone said I was).I didn't "know what love was" because I was 18. But, I think I did know what love was. I had watched my parents learn what love was to them and learned alongside them. I watched so many of my family members learn what love meant to them, and learned alongside them.

I learned what love was at a young age.

I am thankful to know what love is based on my parents and families love, care and maturity to recognize when they were not in love with a person and they were able to end that relationship. They gave me strength to recognize love and to love my husband (that 14 year old boy) with my whole heart.

I am thankful to have come from a "broken home." As it turns out, it wasn't so broken. If anything, it was fixed. It helped shape and fix me. It gave me courage and roots to grow love through.