You always hope that the first one will be the only one.

That somehow you can make it last. That you'll be the couple that shares not only the first dance Junior Prom but the first dance at your wedding as well.

I know, because I was that girl. If you asked me at the age of 16, or even a year and a half ago, I was spending forever with my high school boyfriend. He was the one. It was destiny.

Turns out it wasn't.

And I thank The Universe every day that it wasn't because nobody ever learned anything from never having their heart broken.

The days I spent crying. The breakdown in my best friend's front yard. The sleepless nights. They made me who I am today.

More than that, loving my high school boyfriend taught me how to love future partners. He taught me how to be gentle, but not allow myself to be walked over. He taught me how to bond with his family until they felt like an extension of my own. He taught me how to agree to disagree, and when to know that a fight wasn't worth it. He taught me that I would rather be happy than right. He taught me how I want to be loved, and showed me how I did and didn't deserve to be treated.

Most high school relationships don't end in marriage, but they set the precedent for the ones that do. They will break you, and they will make you stronger. They will turn a 16-year-old falling in love for the first time into a strong 20-year-old woman, pursuing a partner with passion and grace. They teach, and they mold. They are the cornerstone and the foundation for all relationships to come.

So, if you still sometimes think poorly of that quarterback that broke your heart, don't. He was only pushing you one step closer to who you are and what you truly deserve.