To him,

As this is an open letter I need to give some background information, I first started dating my boyfriend my freshman year of high school. We met during marching band, and from there our friendship grew. At the time, I was an awkward 14 year old unsure of anything boy related. Throughout middle school I had always been overlooked, and when he and I began to talk I thought nothing of it.

With acne all over my face and braces, I had always been the best girl friend and nothing more. I had a crush on him, but in my mind there was no possible way he could like me back. As the marching band season progressed, we became close friends and when our season was over he asked me out (or I asked him out.. this is still up for debate). The following night he had a performance, and I being the awkward person I am, gave him a chocolate turkey. The most romantic gesture ever, right?

As our relationship has progressed over the years it is entertaining to look back on it. Pretty much when either of us bring up our first year dating we both simultaneously cringe, but we were so sweet and young. The awkward first kiss, hand holding, and puppy dog phase is far funnier when you remember how acne riddled we both were.

Neither of us had a relationship (well serious ones) besides each other, and everything was new to us. Addressing each other as boyfriend or girlfriend, HAVING to rearrange schedules so we could hold hands in the hall in between classes, and adopting him as my person were all new things. We obviously overlooked somethings, such as the simply exchanging phone numbers (we were 15, and primarily used Snapchat it was a low point ), but it didn't matter because we were both so happy to be together.

High school is a time many people become their own people, and one thing that happened with our relationship that doesn't always happen was we grew together. We each became our own people and changed over the years, but we still worked. The awkward preteens evolved into young adults in almost a blink of an eye. Before we knew it, he was off to college and I was starting my senior year of high school. One thing that is never fully recognized is how reliant you are on a person until they aren't at your beck and call. It took a while for me to come to terms that Facetime calls wouldn't be a nightly thing anymore and that my 7-5 schedule wouldn't always line up to his college schedule. These challenges were overcome and made seeing his smile even more worth it.

Fast forward a year and now we're both college students, lining up our schedules to see each other. One of the hardest things I found when coming to college was the lack of reliance on me. I had a mental breakdown with all of that, and didn't know what to do. I lost myself, and it took me longer than it should have to realize how to come back together.

My family had always deeply relied on me, and now that I was here it was as though they didn't need me anymore. I was convinced from this I needed to be independent, and I could handle myself. I mistreated it completely, and I needed to fall apart to realize what I had. You are the best thing I have ever had, have, and will ever have. I have grown with you the past four years, and cannot wait to continue growing with you.

Thank you for being my rock, my best friend, and my heart.

Yours forever,

Pipes