To the guys who took on the impossible,

We, as girls, are already pretty impossible to deal with. We know it, but as the saying goes: you can't live with us, you can't live without us.

But some of us are a little different.

Outwardly, we aren't any different than any other girl you'd see on the street. It's our minds that are reeling with thoughts and fears that are extremely hard to put at ease.

We're the girls who were told we couldn't wear that. Or that we couldn't hang out with so-and-so. That we weren't allowed to go there. That we had to come straight home.

And the person saying these things wasn't one of our parents.

Emotionally abusive and controlling relationships screw with a person's mind in a way that is almost impossible to describe. It's different for everyone, but we all have a relatively similar experience.

One we vow to never have again.

And that's where you guys come in. Most of us probably weren't looking for you when you came into our lives. We were still trying to sort ourselves out after the last guy.

You came to us randomly through social media or mutual friends. We started out talking occasionally and before we knew it we were falling asleep on FaceTime. We went from being strangers to best friends in a matter of weeks.

At first, it was just friendship. We talked about normal friend stuff. Home, school, friends, the basics.

Then, it started to get deeper. Problems at home, people that used to pick on us, friends who are now enemies.

That's when we decided you could know what happened to us. We opened up about one of the darkest times in our life.

And instead of leaving because we were too broken to deal with, you stayed. You didn't pity us, which is the last thing any of us wanted.

Rather you guys chose to help us.

It was different. We didn't know how to react at first. You continued to treat us like your best friends instead of a possession. This was new territory for us.

You didn't mind when we hung out with friends, even if that friend was a guy. We didn't have to rush home after class and call you right away unless we wanted to.

You left it up to us. You weren't overbearing or overprotective in a toxic way.

We were your equal.

You guys showed us that not everyone is out to make us their slave. We can breathe again. I know I can speak for most girls when I say you guys make us truly happy.

And for that, we thank you. We thank you for making us understand not everyone is out to hurt us. That it's OK to trust and love again. For showing us how to laugh and smile again.

We thank you for coming to our rescue when we least expected it. My knight in shining armor riding a white horse turned out to be the goofy kid I met at a track meet who drives an orange Sun Fire.

We all have our own versions of Prince Charming, but all of you have the same qualities. You make us feel like we are on top of the world. Never in my life have I been told I have a resting happy face.

But that's what you guys do to us. You make us feel completely loved in a way we yearned for but were not given.

We go to bed happy instead of recovering from an argument. You make the stress of everyday life disappear instead of adding to it.

We don't worry about other girls or feel like you're hiding things from us on your phone. We trust you with everything we have. You guys are the definition of perfect.

You make us forget that there was anything to ever be afraid of in the first place.

And for that we thank you.

Sometimes the nice guy does win.

Thank you,

The forever grateful