Typically when a person hurts someone close to us we tend to think negatively of that person, sometimes even harboring anger, hatred, and malice towards them.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that I possess any of these ill feelings toward you. To be quite honest, I would like to thank you.

I don't know you personally; who you are, your upbringing, how your mind works, why you do what you do. But what I do know is that because of your selfish acts, you were forced to lose one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

And for that simple fact, I thank you.

Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to truly fall in love with someone.

In the past, my understanding of what love is was negative, misguided, and composed of hateful words and spite. I thought love was abuse, in the form of words, actions, dishonesty, and manipulation. I thought feeling stuck in a relationship constantly in the state of a downward spiral was normal. I learned to listen to him when he said I would never be able to find better.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to learn what love truly is. Because of you I now have someone by my side who not only genuinely loves me, but also cares about me, my family, my goals, my failures, and everything in between.

I now grasp the understanding that love is not anything close to what I thought it was. It's not just a physical attraction fueled by copious amounts of testosterone. It's not hating yourself because the person you think you love tears you down in order to feed his power-hungry ego. It's not accusations, lies, or expectations that you will never be able to meet.

Love is respecting one another in every situation, not just when it's convenient for one person. Love is taking embarrassing selfies together that show off your double chins, and stuffing your faces with pizza rolls while shamelessly binge-watching Shameless on Netflix. Love is biting your tongue, thinking about the other person's feelings, compromise, and even arguments from time to time.

The right kind of love is healthy, promising, and makes you feel like you're becoming the best version of yourself.

So to the girl who came before me, thank you. Thank you for setting the path necessary for me to find my best friend, boyfriend, and number one supporter.