It starts off like this, "you're so perfect for me," and, "we're going to live together in this beautiful house one day and have a beautiful life." That's what draws you in. Then it turns into, "you're with your friends and not with me. That must mean you don't care about me," and even sometimes, "Why did you dye your hair? You look so fake." It only gets worse from there. It finally turns into, "your parents don't know anything about us. Don't listen to them," and my personal favorite, "your mom is a bitch."

None of these things sent alarm bells off in my head until my family was insulted. Even those insults took a long time to sink in. I was drunk under this spell that he told me was, "love." I actually believed that I was doing wrong by leaving him for the weekend or even for making my hair blonder. I learned a lot from him though and I couldn't be more thankful for these things.

I learned to have a voice. I let myself be walked all over in that relationship and I was finally ready to never have that happen again. My backbone finally straightened up and I was ready to stand up for myself. I learned to voice my opinion when it matters most and to not stay quiet jus because of fear.

I learned not to worry. No longer do I worry when I want to put highlights in my hair. No longer do I worry if I want to go out with my friends one night. I don't worry about my boyfriend when he goes out with his friends. I don't worry what will happen if I speak back to him. I don't worry about any of those things anymore.

I learned that family is everything. I learned that no matter how badly I treat my family or how many times I don't listen, they will always be right there to pick up the pieces. They are the ones ready to open their arms to me when the tears start rolling. They are the ones that matter and I will never ever let anyone else try to tell me otherwise. They are the roots to my ever growing tree, my support system.

I learned to guard my heart. I don't accept what seems to be love until I am absolutely sure it is. That means I also learned to love and I mean really love. I learned to put my whole heart into people that matter and want me in their life and support me.

I learned to try and warn friends when I see them going through the same things. It's hard to watch someone you care about go through the same things you did. You don't want anyone to ever feel the pain that you did. I learned telling someone your own story can help them far more than anything else. Trying to convince a person what they are going through isn't okay, is like fighting an uphill battle. All you can do is share your story and hope something sinks in.

I learned how to be happy again. I had happiness before and I lost it. I wasn't passionate about anything, until now. I have passion and drive again. I learned to rely only on myself for my happiness and to allow others to bring their joy into my life.

I learned how to be better in a relationship. I learned to allow my boyfriend to support me. I learned that it is possible for your boyfriend to be proud of you. I learned to be lenient at times and never to be jealous. I learned that having fun together is the most important thing there is. I will forever be grateful for learning this lesson.

Most importantly, I learned how strong I am. I learned how resilient I am. I withstood incredible pain and suffering and I learned how to be so much stronger from it. I learned that your smile is your best asset and it should shine all the time. Not just when someone else wants it to.

Oh, and I learned how to get my smile back and boy you should see me smile now.