In honor of Valentine’s Day, I took a hard look at those I surrounded myself with. I thought back on all my previous and current loves: my parents, my sisters, my grandparents, my friends. And then I thought of you. Just thinking back to the first day I saw you reminded me of how much you taught me to love. I realized that I never had the chance to thank you for all you did for me. But better late than never right? So here it goes.

Dear First Love,

I know we have been apart for some time now, but there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about you. My actions, my words, and my inexplicable desire to help others, they come from you and what you taught me. I have you to thank. So here I am, thanking you.

Thank you for the first summer we spent together. We spent the long, hot days getting to know each other. Without any distractions, we could just sit in the long grass and stare up at the clouds. Whenever I am having a bad day, I think of those days sitting down by the river. I just close my eyes and remember how we would talk for hours about anything and everything.

Thank you for making every moment we were together matter. You could have taken what we had for granted. I knew when I met you that our time together would be temporary, but that didn’t stop me from falling hard for you. Since you were my first, I did not know how truly happy someone else could make me. Knowing how everything ended, I would still go back to relive the innocent love we shared.

Thank you for teaching me that it was okay to ask questions. Your inquisitive nature and your constant desire to explore and investigate everything gave me the confidence to try new things. Because of you I had the self-assurance to go to school half way across the country. I now love trying new things and embrace every new opportunity. I will never forget the adventures we had together.

Thank you for always being the silent one in our relationship. You always let me rant about my problems. I remember whenever I went to see you, you took me in and just held me close, without explanation. We did not have to exchange words, because you taught me that words are not necessarily important.

Thank you for teaching me to be strong. In the end, when you left to pursue other things, I had to be resilient and keep moving on. Although it took me many months to get over you, the next spring I found another just like you. And because of my first experience with you, I was able to love again with abandon.

Thank you for being my everything, even if it was only for a short time. I didn’t need to hear you say I love you. I felt it through your actions, and way you responded with glee every time you saw me. Of course it could have been because I carried a bucket of grain. After all, you were a goat.

Now that you know how truly meaningful your short time on earth was, you can rest easy.

Your first love