I will admit it. You were a mistake- an error in judgement. Loving you, having you consume my heart for months on end, was a mistake.

It didn't start like that. At first, loving you was... fun, adventurous, new, exciting. You gave me butterflies every day. You gave me a reason to believe in love. You were the light in my darkness.

Suddenly, as quickly as it began, it ended.

I realized that you weren't the person that I thought you were; the person I wanted you to be; the person that I fell in love with. I was too blind to see reality: the reality that you weren't the man to commit, you weren't the man that you said you could be, honestly, you weren't a "man".

You were a boy. A boy full of broken promises and empty dreams. You strung me along and kept my hopes high, probably to maintain your ego. When I wasn't enough for you anymore, you decided it was OK to break my heart- not so gracefully, may I add.

Sometimes I think to myself, maybe I am to blame. How could I be so ignorant...naive...blind...? Then I remember, it wasn't my fault. I have nothing to be sorry for or ashamed of. Love is a natural part of life. As human beings, we desire to love and be loved. We find love in so many different ways. The way that I found love in you is something that I hope to find again someday, only the difference will be that I'll fall in love with a man who couldn't even bear the thought of ruining me.

So, loving you may have been a mistake in my eyes, but it's one I won't apologize for. It was a mistake that I can say I truly gained from... and you don't receive too many of those in life.

Although loving you was ultimately a mistake, I don't regret knowing you. You taught me a lot about myself, about love, and about relationships. You made me realize that sometimes, "I love you" is a way to break a heart. It wasn't all bad, you actually showed me a lot of good. You taught me how to compromise and keep an open mind. You taught me that life is an adventure meant to be lived to the fullest. You taught me how to laugh with my whole heart.

Lastly, like the wise and beautiful song "I Hope You Dance" taught me, "Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'."

You'll make these kinds of mistakes in your life- maybe more than once. Don't let the fear of making a mistake keep you from falling in love, because one day, you'll find the one who makes all of your previous mistakes and errors in judgment seem so distant, far-away, and unimportant.