People change people.

If you would've seen the girl I was four years ago, or even six months ago, you wouldn't recognize me now.

A little over four years ago, I found myself in a very abusive relationship. I was constantly put down, lied to, chastised and made to think I was worthless.

I spent all hours of my day begging and pleading for attention or affection or even just the acknowledgment of my existence.

I walked into this relationship with high hopes for a shared love, and I was let down on every level imaginable.

I was not only told that my expectations were "too high," but that the reason they were unattainable was that I was unworthy of the treatment I so desperately craved.

Now, let me lay this out for you. My expectations were as follows:

I wanted honesty.

I wanted loyalty.

I wanted to be secure in my relationship.

I wanted to feel wanted.

And I wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was loved.

I never asked for the sky to be brought down to earth so I could dance among the stars (although that would be pretty cool).

I was always going out of my way to do a little something extra just to be noticed.

I felt like unless I went above and beyond, I wouldn't even be seen that day.

It was so draining, emotionally and mentally.

The only time I ever felt loved was when it was my body that was on the receiving end.

I was a shell of the once very bright, spunky, outgoing girl I was before I met him. He changed me.

Flash forward to about six months ago, and my life changed again.

He was ripped out from my clutches, and it devastated me almost as deeply as the relationship itself. I mourned a love I was now sure to never have. All of my efforts amounted to nothing. I felt even more worthless than I did when I was desperately clinging onto something that was never real.

Then I saw him. Or, I should say, he saw me. He was a friend, more than that if you asked him, but a friend still.

And while I was busy destroying myself over and over again, night after night, he was busting himself with healing me by giving me a love I had only ever dreamed of.

In just a few months, he has changed my perspective on love altogether.

Where I once felt insufficient, I now feel more than enough.

Where I once questioned everything, I am now totally secure and never have to wonder.

I am noticeably happier, to the point where people comment on it.

People change people.

Some people drain you, while others fill spaces you didn't even know were empty.

Some people make you wish you were a different person, and others help you realize just how wonderful you are as yourself.

People change people. I've been changed for the worse, and now I am forever changed for the better.