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To My Ex-Boyfriend, Thank You For Teaching Me That Red Flags Are Warnings, Not Destinations

Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today in my life.

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To My Ex-Boyfriend, Thank You For Teaching Me That Red Flags Are Warnings, Not Destinations

I thought you were the one. You were my first and I was "in love." I met you the summer before starting college. As I started school, I paid more attention to you than to other people. I didn't make many friends that year because I thought you were more important. Boy, I was wrong. As Taylor Swift says, "I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale, I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell..." I thought I was in a fairytale. But this is the real world.

However, I want to say thank you. Thank you for coming into my life because I learned so many things while being with you. There were so many red flags that people kept on telling me about you but I ignored them. I see those red flags as learning lessons. If I see any of those red flags in a guy, I am walking in the other direction.

I learned to value myself. I learned that I should take care of myself first and think about me before letting people in my life. I learned that family is way more important than a guy. I learned that not all guys are like you. You were selfish and manipulative, and I thought that was the norm. I thought cheating was okay. You made me feel like I was useless and unwanted. There are many guys who are way nicer than you'll ever be. The right guy is going to come into my life someday.

You were very distant during the second semester of my freshmen year. I started making new friends and looking into organizations. Thanks to you, I have a lovely support system. I'm glad you were distant because then I would have never joined my sorority. I would have never met my beautiful sisters. I don't know where I would be today if I wasn't in my sorority. So thank you.

Thank you for teaching me how to be more independent of myself. Now, I am stronger and wiser because of you. I am not afraid of taking chances. I am not afraid of learning new things. For example, I do kickboxing now. Like I said, I am stronger. You were a life lesson that I can't take for granted. Even though I still hate you, I wish the very best for you. I know you're not going to read this, but who knows, you might.

Once again, thank you.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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3. Making random men nervous with your superior beauty and intense eye contact just for the hell of it is really amusing and empowering.

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5. The toilet seat will remain down.

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12. You have more time to learn how to love and improve yourself rather than constantly pouring your energy into another person.

13. You don't have to sacrifice your cheesy Jen Aniston rom-coms and Gilmore Girls for his Fast and Furious/other dumb action movie featuring blonde that is only in the movie to supply a relationship to the male lead and to make him look more masculine/empowered in juxtaposition (In other words, you don't have to deal with a guy being a crabby Patty while you watch your cute movies).

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