To the guy I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with,

First of all let me say thank you. Thank you for everything that we ever had from the good times and the bad. You taught me a lot and you will always have a special place in my heart, however you will never have another place in my life. I wish I could say that I learned and became the person that I am today without you, but I can’t so this letter is for you.

Thank you for giving me eight years of what I thought was pure happiness. I learned that I was not happy and that what I took for you being a great boyfriend was actually damaging to me in the long run. Thank you for leaving, because even though when you first left I felt broken and so angry, I felt like I had to prove myself to you; to be better than the girl you left me for. I learned that I was already better because I would’ve never put you through that and never cheated. I also learned the more important lesson of this is that I didn’t have to be the better person between you and her, that I only had to be better than the person I was yesterday. This lead me to achieve more of my goals and to do more community oriented things, which lead me to make lasting friendships and relationships.

Thank you for leaving when you did because it was a crucial growing point in my life, and I thought that I couldn’t do anything without you, because for eight years you were the one I did everything with. We had life plans, and when you left me I didn’t know what to do, who I was. I got to explore options and retry old opportunities, I ended up finding out that I actually didn’t like some of the things that you swore I loved, and found out those things you said I would hate, that I loved. I completed my English Degree, and even started writing for a local paper. There were dark times and through these times I doubted if I could make it without you because we made it through everything together and suddenly you weren’t with me, or even around. The dark times ended, and I learned how to deal with life struggles on my own. That’s when I really learned that I was different. I was not the girl that I was eight years ago. You had taken that girl away from me and forced me to grow up, to be sure of being single when I never chose that.

I thank you for that because the things that I had to overcome shaped me to be the person that I am today. I am part of many communities and I am writing and blogging and loving every minute of it. When you left me, I thought I’d die, instead I started living.