Dear Eric,

22 years ago you found out you were having a daughter, May 1996. 9 months later you had a daughter, February 15, 1997. From that moment you made a choice.

A choice to be absent, a choice to not accept me, a choice to not care about my life. And from that moment, I have been all the better for it.

I have tried to write this letter many times over the past 21 years. I have written it at many different stages of my life. The angry stage, the denial stage, the curious stage.

Now I feel though is the best stage for me to write this. The peaceful stage. I am at peace with the fact that you chose not to be a part of my life.

To be quite frank, I would have rather it this way than for you to be present, then absent or for you to be a terrible father.

My life is good. I never once felt unloved, never once felt that I was missing something, never once felt out of place. I made something of myself without you.

I have traveled the world. I completed an entire years worth of college credits before graduating high school.

I performed on one of the most prestigious stages in the world at 17 years old with my choir. I am graduating college a semester early and I have an amazing future ahead of me.

For a long time I was angry at you, wondering why you left, what did I do wrong, how can I fix it. In recent years I have realized that it doesn't matter.

I have a wonderful life full of people who truly support and care about me. You have not hindered my life in any way. I don't even know if I know what I was missing because it never felt like anything was.

You went on with your life and I went on with mine. I am not longer going to let myself be angry with you. There is no going back in time and making a change.

You cannot take back the choice you made but if you decide one day you'd like to try and fix it, I will accept it but I will no longer be waiting for it.

Today, April 10, 2018 I am making a choice. A choice to be free of you.

A choice to be happy. A choice to no longer let your mistake affect my life. You abandoned me and for that, I am forever grateful.

I love my life. I love my friends and I love my family. So Eric, today, I forgive you.

I forgive you for the choice you made 22 years ago. I forgive you for not believing in yourself. I forgive you for not putting in the effort.

I forgive you for being a crappy human being. I forgive you.

Sincerly,

The Daughter You Never Wanted