As much as we want to forget our first love, we never will. Our first love taught us things about ourselves, relationships, and about life in general. This is to you

To My First Love,

It has been years since we broke up, but you honestly still cross my mind. It's not because I miss you or us, but because you taught me a lot. You taught me when to hold my tongue and what was worth arguing over. You taught me how to be a girlfriend, how to care about someone else and their opinion, and how to be a best friend. I hope I was able to teach you things as well.

You taught me so much, but we also learned together. We learned how to slow dance, take pictures, and be in a relationship. We learned to dance because our friends forced us together and we started to gently sway to the music. After a minute we weren't that bad. We learned to take pictures together, we used to take them awkwardly hugging. I am so glad that we grew away from that and how much we used to overedit our pictures. We learned how to be in a relationship. We learned that it is a process of giving and taking by little things like letting the other one pick what movie we were going to watch Saturday night at Park Place. We learned about each other, relationships, and life.

I learned so much about life because you made me branch out. I tried new foods, met new people, went new places, and watched different things because of you. You helped me become a better person. We learned about life because we stood by each other's sides for so many things. From the deaths of loved ones to big moments in high school, we were there for each other.

I never knew someone else could teach me so much about myself. You taught me what I expected in a relationship and what kind of things I looked for in a boy. You taught me my weakness and strengths. You taught me things about myself that I would have never realized and things that I never knew I needed.

Although I am supposed to be cliche and say something along the lines of "I hate him so much" or "He was an awful boyfriend, I am so glad we aren't together anymore" I won't. I am so glad that you were my first love. I do not hate you. I hate things that happened, but I was partial to blame. You were a great boyfriend and you are the reason my standards are high now, you are the reason that I am so picky about who I will love next. I am glad that we can still speak and that we wish the best for each other. You deserve the best because you are a good person, a person that will always have a place in my heart. I cannot wait to see the great things you do and the happiness that life will bring you.