As weird as this may sound, I want to thank my ex. I want to thank him for all the terrible things he put me through. So here's to my ex, this one is for you.

First, I want to thank you for all the belittling and negative words that you said to me out of anger and spite; in the end, it only made me stronger and thickened my skin. I want to thank you for all the lies you told me. I want to thank you for forgetting our dates and blowing me off for your friends. I want to thank you for kicking me out of the car on multiple occasions-- it only showed me that I was in an abusive relationship and needed out. Speaking of abusive relationships, I want to thank you for showing me the red flags I should be looking out for. Thank you for all the fighting, it only made me realize that not everything is worth putting my time and energy into and that it's better to be silent.

I want to say thank you for making me open my eyes and making me realize that I am worth so much more than what you said I was. I want to say thank you for making me believe in myself and my goals because you never did. I want to say thank you for making me much more determined when it comes to school and work. I want to thank you for helping me realize that I have so much potential inside of me. Overall, I want to thank you for making me the strong young woman I am today.

But most importantly, thank you for leaving. I would have never had the strength to leave back then, but I'm glad that you did. It gave me time to process everything that had happened in the year and a half we dated. Everything that had happened only made me closer with my family and friends-- you know the people that you made me blow off for you? I'm doing what makes me happy for once and not what makes you happy. I've learned to love myself because of you and I cannot thank you enough for that. At the end of the day, I am a better, happier, and healthier me because of you.

Yet, I also want to thank you for changing. I want to thank you for not putting your current girlfriend through the awful things that you put me through. I want to thank you for respecting not only her but her family as well because let's be real, you didn't care about mine at all. I want to thank you for being patient and not giving up on her. I want to thank you for not blowing her off for your friends. I want to thank you for being the boyfriend that she deserves. Thank you for changing and becoming a better young man.

As rocky as our relationship was, I appreciated every second of it. Through thick and thin there was a life lesson waiting to be learned. I think we both needed a difficult relationship to help us become the people we are today. So once again thank you! Thank you for everything.