One year ago, I entered a relationship that I thought was going to be worthwhile, magical, and long-lasting. I broke all of my rules for falling for someone too fast, and although I hated myself for it, I didn't regret it at the same time, because he made me the happiest I had ever been.

Little did I know that only halfway into the summer, my world would come crumbling down, and my heart would be shattered to pieces, all because of one text.

When I got that text, saying it wasn't going to work out, my dreams of us facing the world and its obstacles, and falling more in love, were now destroyed. How could someone just give up on something so easily? How could we make it this far, only to have someone lose faith in everything that we had built in the snap of a finger?

For months after this breakup, I had felt so many emotions: hurt, anger, confusion, stupid, betrayal, alone, unwanted, not good enough, scared, and guilty. I felt hurt and betrayed by him for giving up on us so fast. I felt stupid for thinking something this pure was going to ever last. I felt unwanted and not good enough because obviously, something had to have been wrong for things to go this way. I felt scared for thinking about trying to put myself out there with guys again because this time it just backfired in my face in the end. But despite feeling all of these emotions, I mostly felt guilty, because no matter how angry or hurt I felt because of him, he was still present in my mind and my heart.

Going through a breakup sucks, and it put me at some of my weakest and lowest points. But looking back, I'm glad I went through this experience because it taught me more about myself than I had ever known before.

I've had a year to reflect on all of this, and my breakup has transformed me into a stronger person. Of course the first few weeks were the hardest and most painful, but I strongly believe everything happens for a reason, and that maybe this was not the best thing for me at that time.

I'm grateful for my breakup because I wouldn't have been strong enough to handle everything at once.

Looking back, I can see that maybe summer before freshman year of college wasn't the best time for me to begin a serious relationship. I would be starting a new journey in a fresh environment, where multiple curveballs would be thrown at me, most likely to put me under a lot of stress. And not physically having that person you care about the most with you to help comfort and calm you down would only make it harder. Long distance requires a lot of commitment and effort, and while I give credit to those who are already doing this and still going strong (which honestly... goals), I don't think I would've been capable of doing all of this at the time, even though I tried endlessly to convince myself I was.

I'm grateful for my breakup because it's offered me more time to focus on myself and what I want.

When you're in a relationship, you can't only be thinking about yourself; you have to think of your partner as well as how to manage your relationship. Being on my own has allowed me to focus on my passions and my future, and has helped me become more independent every day. It's inspired me to create art through my writing to inspire others, and to help others do more. But most importantly, it's helped me focus on the areas I want to change and my well-being, which ultimately helps me to be the best version of me.

I'm grateful for my breakup because it inspired me to move forward with my life and has helped me grow.

There are many different ways on how to move on from someone or something, but a broken heart is arguably the most challenging one out of all of them. If things are constantly working out for us, then we're not being pushed to do more as a result. In order to grow as people, we need these challenges present in our lives so we can learn how to overcome them and become stronger in the end. Had I not been broken up with, I wouldn't have come to this conclusion, and I wouldn't have learned all of the lessons I gained from it. This entire experience has taught me how to heal and in the end, has made me stronger by learning to keep moving forward. There are still days where I feel vulnerable, but if you put me from one year ago next to me right now, you would visibly see a difference between the two.

I'm grateful for my breakup because it has helped me to accept and forgive.

I won't lie, I was angry and had a deep hatred for the guy who easily broke my heart. At the time, it felt like it was the biggest blindside, and what hurt even more was that it was from someone I had never expected it to come from. But after taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, he did what he thought was best for him, and he told me straightforward instead of leaving me in the dark by ghosting me. At the end of the day, he was truly an amazing guy, and all of the times we spent together were filled with nothing but happiness. If you asked me a few months ago if I had wanted anything to do with him, I would've answered with a straight up "hell no," followed by a few not so nice words. But now, if we had that chance to reconnect even as friends, I would have no problems or hesitations for doing that.

So here's a thank you to the boy who broke my heart. Had you not have done that one year ago, I would not be the healed and strong person that I am today.