As a whole, my first year at college taught me much more than just biology and sociology. After high school, I made an effort to change. Not because I didn't love myself exactly the way I was, but because I simply wanted to become more involved with the environment around me and maybe make a few more friends than I would usually consider myself acquainted with. New school, new start, new me. Without fail, this decision to radically change who I was eventually back-fired on me.

This is for all the people out there that have ever had friends who were never really your friends. It was a learning experience, to say the least, but I am also grateful I went through it when I did.

To my so-called "friends",

You think you broke me. For a little while, you did. But I am not who you think I am. I learn from my mistakes. All I have to give to you now is my thanks.

Thank you for teaching me it is okay to be rejected. I'm not worthless. I'm not stupid. We all need to put ourselves out there in order to grow. However, if the people around you don't respond the way they should, the way your best friends should, you shouldn't waste any more of your time on them. There are many fish in the sea. If you stay too caught up on only a few of them, you might end up missing the bunch that you actually do belong to.

“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.”

Thank you for teaching me you can't make everyone like you. All I wanted was to be accepted. To be liked. I tried so hard to fit in, and be the "fun" girl. But the more I played along with your games, the more I lost myself. Not everyone is going to like you, and that may be hard to cope with. It is a fact of life, though, and it's okay.

Thank you for reminding me that I will be just fine on my own, better actually. For the first couple months of college, you were the people I cared the most about and the thought of navigating college-life alone scared me. I once thought that you cared about me too, but I turned out to be wrong. Now I'm free to be myself, and go out and find real friends that will love me for who I actually am.

Thank you for making me realize that some people are exactly what they seem to be - bad people. I have a problem with always trying to see the good in people. Even though you guys hurt me, I still have a tiny part that picks out and appreciates your good qualities. You don't deserve it.

“Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it”

Thank you for being the kind of people I never want to be. You ignored me. You used me. You dropped me in a text message. All those hours, long nights, and laughs we shared apparently meant nothing to you and everything to me. I will never treat someone like that.

Thank you for providing me with my first ever heartbreak. Many say the break-ups you have with your friends are just as hard, if not harder, than the ones you have with an actual partner. I now know that, in time, everything will get better, and I now know the ways I should not deal with my next one.

“Six letters, two words, easy to say, hard to explain, harder to do: Move On.”

Thank you for making me even more independent. Before college, I focused on school and never had that many friends. I was annoyingly independent. But that all changed once college started. I opened up to you guys. I started to rely on you. I got used to the idea of being around all of you for the greater part of my day, and I actually welcomed the change. It was a phase. There will be others.

“When something bad happens, you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.”

Thank you for making me stronger. Thank you for making me realize you were never good enough for me anyway.

Sincerely, the girl who no longer cares about you.