What I learned from my first love is priceless. It cannot be bought. Coming from a broken past, my first love taught me what love is. He taught me how to love. He taught me about love's power and love's ability to heal.

My first love taught me patience, compassion, sympathy, empathy, thoughtfulness, selflessness, sacrifice, sharing, self-love, gratitude, and beauty. I reflect on our relationship with gratitude.

My first love told me that when we part ways he wanted me to be able to look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I am beautiful. And my first glance at myself in the mirror when I said goodbye to him, I told myself I was beautiful.

My first love taught me to stay true to myself. My first love taught me that love is about wanting what's best for the other person. He taught me that what we had was priceless and could not be bought. I learned more from him than I will in four years of college.

Words don't and will never do my first love justice. My first love taught me that it's okay to let love in and that love will come again. My first love came into my life and served his purpose, to teach me about love and to be a lifelong friend.

To my first love... you know who you are. I love you and I thank you.