When looking at the most influential people you have met in your life, you tend to look at the people who have benefitted your life the most. You look at the people who did everything to make you smile, the people who believed in you the most, and the people that supported you in everything you said and did. Most people don’t tend to look at the people who hurt them as inspiring, but to me, I believe these people were the most influential in my success and growth as a person. Without these people, I wouldn’t have the self-confidence to be whoever the hell I wanted to be, and I would have never grown the pair I needed to stand up for myself in the ways that I deserved. Although they may not deserve the recognition, I thank the people who hurt me every single day.

To the person who hurt me, I thank you for not believing in me. Without you telling me countless times that I couldn’t do something, I would have never decided to do the damn thing anyways, and do it well. When you didn’t believe in me, I was forced to believe in myself to prove to you that I was worth something. When I started believing in myself, I broke down walls and barriers, and I did great things. I realized that I didn’t always need someone to tell me I could do things (although that really helped), and I proved to myself that words didn’t have to hurt me as much as they did in the past.

To the person who hurt me, I thank you for breaking me down. Without the breakdowns, the fights, and the tears that you put me through, I would have never became the strong person that I am today. Everything you put me through made me feel weak and insecure. I went throughout life only thinking of the things I did wrong, and I never put emphasis on the amazing things I did. Without you breaking me down, I would have never had the chance to build myself back up. I would have never found my strengths and weaknesses, and I would have never grown as a person, and for that, I am especially grateful.

To the person who hurt me, I thank you for teaching me what not to be in life. In a time that I was molding my own personality and strengths, your terrible attitude and personality showed me exactly what I didn’t want to be. Dealing with you taught me how to show empathy towards others going through tough times, showed me who I really needed to pay attention to in life, and how to be the person I am today. Because of you, I now strive to be everyone’s friends, I am no longer judgmental, and I have a new respect for people in general. I have realized that if other people have to put up with people like you, that they deserve a new level of respect, and you never know what battles people are going through every day. I wake up every day and make sure that I am nowhere near the kind of person you were.

To the person who hurt me, I thank you for showing me what I didn’t need in life. In a time when all I needed was a friend, you showed me what a bad one was. Although I let you in my life for far too long, I’m thankful that I did, because it showed me exactly what kind of person I didn’t need. I didn’t need someone who degraded me every single day. I didn’t need someone constantly telling me what they don’t think I should be doing with me life, and trying to control everything that I did. I now go through life being very picky about whom I let into my life, and realize my life and sanity is worth more than trying to keep a relationship.

To the person who hurt me, I thank you for leaving. When you left, I was devastated. I was devastated because I let you into my life for so long, only to take our relationship and stomp it into the ground. You didn’t care how badly you hurt me, and it showed. It hurt that I invested so much of my time and trust into a person who wasn’t worth anything at all, but it taught me to be more cautious about everything I did in my life. I didn’t want you to leave at the time, but now, I am much more happy and beyond stronger than I was with you in my life. I thank God every day for him taking you out of my life when you did. I now watch you ruin other people’s lives, and while I feel bad for not helping them get out while they can, I realize that you aren’t my problem anymore, and you should have never been.