Dear Exes,

     First of all, thank you for the good times. We're not going to mention the bad. This is not a time for that. This isn't the time to talk about the reasons why it didn't work. Actually, this is a celebration of you. Your type. The infamous EX boyfriend. I'd like to take a moment of my time to thank you for the work that you've done in my life. I'll give you all (all 3 of you) your own special shoutout.

To #1 AKA Sweet High School Romance

    You taught me romantic love. How to love another person. You were my sweet high school romance in every sense of the word. I cried when we parted ways at nights. We held hands for the entirety of the football game, and couldn't look away from each other long enough to watch the movie. You were the first person outside of my family whose well-being was connected with my own. You were the first. I still think about you from time to time and worry whether you're doing well for yourself or not. You showed me what it meant to grow up and grow into love. But, as great as it was, you showed me that people can grow up and grow away from each other, too. Because of you I learned that it's okay to move on when the time is right. So, thank you, SHSR. For the gift of love.

To #2 AKA You Don't Want Me To Give You A Nickname

     What did I learn from a relationship this chaotic? You taught me how to love myself. And, yes, I know you loved me in the way that you knew how, but, you taught me that a caged bird can't be happy. Because of you I learned how to understand the kind of love that I wanted for myself. You showed me how the wrong kind of love can be suffocating. Dangerous, like a knife to the throat. You showed me what love looks like when it wants to keep you to itself. You taught me the importance of being your own person, as a whole, before you can be someone else's. You taught me how to break free. YDWMTGYAN, thanks for such an important lesson.

To #3 AKA Mr. Right For Now
   
      The recent one. The one who is slowly leaving my thoughts. The one filled with the sweetest words and the deepest promises. You are teaching me me how to find the balance between loving another and loving myself. It's a process. You are teaching me that I can't hold on to something that's struggling to be let go. I'm learning that just giving isn't enough. Thanks to you, I've begun to recognize that I deserve to receive the same amount of love that I can give. After #2, you were like a breath of fresh air. You were so incredibly perfect for me...at the time. But, as I had already learned, people grow, either together of apart. For us it was the latter. I'm not bitter because I'm not the one for you. But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad that I wasted so much time believing you were the one for me. But, all the same, MRFN, thank you so much. I'm glad I knew you, so that I could learn such a valuable lesson. Every day, I will remind myself of my worth. Because I deserve love without conditions, without compromises.

     So, exes...I celebrate the time I had with each of you, for better of for worse. I wish you all of the happiness in the world. You all contributed to the person that I am today, even though I'm still figuring that out. Thank you.

From your favorite ex,
Shawnelle