Dear Ex Boyfriend,

It's been a little over a year now since we have been together. I have lived every month, season and holiday without you. We haven't spoken in some time, and truthfully, we may never speak again. However, I have something to say, whether you ever see this or not.

Thank you.

Thank you for breaking my heart on a day that started out like any other and ended with me crying myself to sleep, wondering what I did wrong. Thank you for making me believe that you still loved me even when your heart was no longer mine. Thank you for slowly fading out of my life and never giving me closure. Thank you for being dishonest and unfaithful, leading me to believe that I didn't deserve to be treated better than that.

Thank you for breaking me so that I could rebuild myself stronger and better than I ever was with you.

Over the past year, I have become a more positive and happier person. I have learned to love myself and to not rely on someone else to make me feel worthy. My happy place is no longer plagued with your negativity and I am free to love and do whatever I want, free of your judgment. I no longer feel inferior and like less of a person, which isn't how a relationship should be.

You should've treated me like an equal. You should've supported my dreams. You should've loved to do things that I loved because seeing me happy should've been enough. You should've been honest. You should've been sensitive. You should've been understanding. You should've learned to stop talking and start listening. You should've realized that I would have done anything for you...and you should've been willing to do the same.

Our relationship wasn't all bad; we made some wonderful memories, and I will never deny that. But if I could look at you on a daily basis and be incredibly uncertain of if I saw a future with you or not...it just means weren't meant to be.

So that's why I am thanking you, over a year later, for ending things between us. We were never going to move in together, get engaged, get married and start a family. You would have never supported my dreams and I never would've been okay with just standing in the shadows of your success. We are two completely different people who just don't fit well enough to spend an entire lifetime together, and that's okay.

You and I going our separate ways was the best thing that could've happened to me. I learned so much about myself this past year; I made friends, I lived in a different city, I had life changing experiences, I stepped out of my comfort zone and, recently, I found someone who treats me the way I deserve to be treated...and now I know that I deserve this good treatment.

I am past the point of hating you. I realize now how wrong we were for each other, but I still cherish the time I spent with you. I just hope that you've learned about yourself, learned from your mistakes and that you put your best foot forward with your next relationship.