Some things aren't supposed to work out.

No matter how much we might want to think otherwise, some people are meant to be temporary chapters in your life or are meant for different roles in your life entirely. I think that was a hard lesson to learn for me to learn because up until that point in my life all of my relationships had ended when someone did something wrong. I hadn't yet met you: the girl who made me happy, who I made happy in return.

Though neither of us did anything wrong, we didn't end up lasting. For a very long time, I felt as though I needed to be different, to be the kind of guy you needed me to be. The truth is easier to see in hindsight, of course.

We simply didn't work out in the long term as a couple. At the time, however, I blamed myself for not being who you needed me to be. I think my problem was that it was my first break-up in which both people agreed and ended on good terms; neither one of us were at fault. I was so used to being able to assign blame that the only person I felt I could blame was myself. I blamed myself for a very long time until eventually, time caught up and I realized I was still trying to be the right guy for a girl who I no longer even know.

So I'm not the guy for you. It took me a long time to accept this, but we're both in happier places in life than if we had stayed together. We could have worked it out but only by us each denying the incompatible parts of ourselves for the sake of the other. I never blamed you and I no longer blame myself. I continue to believe that you will find the person who is meant to keep you happy, just as I continue to believe I will find that for myself.

I'm going to find the girl who wants to go fishing even more often than I do, who can't walk past an animal shelter without wanting to adopt every puppy they have, who wants a big happy family, and who inspires me to be the very best version of myself. You're going to find the guy who takes you to Europe, who gets you that loft in the big city, who keeps your life fresh and exciting, and who inspires you to be the very best version of yourself. We weren't meant to be together but we were both meant to be happy.