It's hard to believe that, just a year ago, I barely knew Karla Cruz.

At least, looking back on it, that's how it seems. Just a year ago, we were diving headlong into a whirlwind affair that we called a relationship. Over the months, it would grow into something that seems as though it has spanned years. Just over a year ago, I took this on as a healing journey.

Let me explain that part.

My high school career consisted of five years of a crazy, happy, depressing, rollercoaster relationship with one girl. Some times, it was wonderful, sometimes, it was terrible. Sometimes, it was my fault, sometimes, it was each of ours. But, overall, I was happy with being in love with her. Then, just as we were racing toward the grand finale of so many years in those same halls and behind those same desks, it ended. As a matter of fact, it came to a bone-rattling, tire-screeching, earth-shattering halt.

Somehow, one of the greatest times of my life then managed to be one of the worst times. I reached a point that I honestly believed that I could not move on. I reached a point where, in that mess, I didn't think I could find a clean finish.

And then, amid the greasy glamour of the local Pizza Hut, I found refuge in Karla. We'd worked together at the Hut for months, and known each other for a few years. As a matter of fact, we had disliked each other for much of that time. But, with every night mopping floors and long day dishing out pizza pies, we'd reached a rocky friendship. And, suddenly, she was my refuge.

The months since then have dissipated more quickly than I possibly could have anticipated. At some point, I managed to fall in love more quickly than I imagined possible, and with a girl whom I never would have believed it possible.

I suppose this is a thank you to Karla for being my rock and my home. It's a thank you for showing me that you can be in love more than once, and the first time isn't always the right time. In the middle of a storm I never dreamed would fade, you proved to me that I could make it back to clear skies.

Cheesy? Probably. Accurate? Definitely.

I don't typically like to discuss the tumultuous period leading up to our relationship. I don't like to point out the heavy burdens that I inadvertently shoved onto the shoulders of the girl whose affection I sought. Honestly, though? I couldn't be more thankful. I lived through a young love story, and I didn't think it possible for it to end. But when it did, and so horribly, it ultimately showed me how to properly love.

I learned how to truly be slow to anger. I learned to have patience. I learned to cherish, appreciate and nurture more carefully. I learned to be more understanding, and I learned to give more credit where it's due. I learned to look at the world differently, and I learned that you can find more around any corner and under any rock than you could ever imagine.

So, thank you. Thank you, Karla, for being exactly what I needed when I needed it. Thank you for bringing me back into the light of day until my skin was burned in a way that feels so right.

I had to be burned to realize that, occasionally, that's alright. The sunshine is where we belong, and you showed me that.