To my greatest critics, my once close friends, and just anyone who hurt me:

Thank you.

I know, you might be confused, but part of who I am today is because of you. I learned more about myself from you all than I learned on my own or with the friends that stuck with me. It's all thanks to you that I'm as successful as I am today and it would be rude of me not to acknowledge that. So thanks.

To my greatest critics, your constant criticism and emphasis on wrong instead of right pushed me to look at my flaws and remedy what I could. More importantly, it taught me not to worry about what I could not fix. Sometimes what you told me was wrong wasn't anything I could fix - and I had to be okay with that. Your criticism was useful in teaching me to be okay with myself. Without that, who knows where I would be right now.

To my former friends, I don't regret our friendship. We were right for a season and then we moved on. And that's okay. Thank you for teaching me that. And for any negative words and feelings that were left unspoken, I'm sorry and I genuinely hope you're successful. You are all amazing and going to be great at whatever you pursue. The time spent with you taught me a lot, and the time where you thought poorly of me taught me too. I've learned to improve what I can and let go of the rest. While your words and actions may have hurt at the time, I've learned from it and become better because of you. Whenever I see you around my school or on social media, it doesn't stop my heart from pounding a little harder, but it reminds me how far I've come.

To anyone else who hurt me, your words hurt, but just made me adjust for the better. You've made me stronger, you've helped me understand that I can survive your criticism, and best of all you've helped me succeed. The very thing you told me I couldn't do, I did. Not because you told me I couldn't, but because I had to prove it to myself. I've become so much more than you could have ever pictured me accomplishing.

Because of you all, I've learned which friends to pick. That means being with people who love me for who I am and don't judge me behind my back. I've learned which teachers are truly helping me improve and which ones are just bitter and bringing me down. I've seen what harsh words and mean spirits can do and I don't like it, so I chose not to be that way. All because of you. You all have done so much for me without even meaning to. I hope I taught you some of the same lessons.

Learning these lessons was not an easy task. It hurt. Tears were shed along the way. But it's okay. Because I am not who I used to be. And I'm really proud of that. So thank you for your harsh words, your hurtful critiques, and anything else that you said to me. You made me, me.

Sincerely,

Me