To the friends that walked away,

I used to think that you walking away from our friendship was the end of the world, or, my world at least. I was alone and scared. Scared to walk back into school, knowing I would have to face you, scared to hear you talking in fear that my name would come into the conversation, scared of the confrontation that I so desperately needed from you, yet never received. The worst part is, you never spoke cruel words, never threatened me, never actually did anything that should have made me scared. You just left. Yet, I was terrified nonetheless. I believed that I had lost all of the strength that I had gained over the span of my entire life and had no clue how to build myself up again. I had never fended for myself before and now I was completely on my own.

I would say that I wish this situation had never happened, however, I’m actually glad it did. I genuinely thought that I had lost myself, then, I realized that the strength that it took for me to recover from that was something that no one could ever steal from me. I got myself through and I know now that I was, and still am, so much more than a group of friends. I know that there are others out there who will actually care enough to stick around. I know my own strength and who I can be if I persevere through the nearly unbearable times in life. I may have let them win for a while, but I’m taking my life back and rising above it all.

I let you ruin me. I enabled you to steal a piece of my dignity when you didn’t even deserve half of the attention given to you. I let myself become distraught over something that would eventually be meaningless. Now, I know better. I am ready to face the world without you.

Throughout this learning experience, I have thought of you multiple times. I hope that you all are succeeding and enjoying your lives. I hope that you still think of me and the memories that we share. No matter what we have gone through, I hope you know that you can still lean on me in times of hardship. I’ll be here. Thank you for teaching me one of the biggest lessons I believe a person can learn; the power of true friendship.

Love,

The girl you left behind