An open letter to my first love

I remember when we met each other. We became the very best of friends. We did everything together and spent all of our free time together. We had so much fun just driving around listening to George Strait or whatever other country song was on. We laughed and had good conversation. It took months for you to convince me to be yours because I was afraid that we would ruin our friendship, but once I finally said yes and took the leap, you had won over my heart.

It’s been a long time since we have seen each other, or even spoke. Many years have passed. We parted ways and started our own journey without each other. I always thought that we would be together forever, but for whatever reason, God had other plans.

Regardless how much time has passed between us, I will never forget the things you taught me. But the most important thing you taught me, was how a man is supposed to treat a woman. Who am I kidding? I was too young to even understand what love really was back then. I sure thought I did though, but hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back, I see that all you ever provided was unconditional love.

It never mattered how exhausted you were, how stressed you were, or what else you had that was going on in your life, you still made sure to spend as much time with me as possible. You followed me home every night to make sure I got home safe even if it was late and you had to get up early.

We were young and you were working your first job so you didn’t make much money, yet you still bought me things all the time. You pampered me in every way possible and you always made sure to keep me on a pedestal. I will never forget being called into the office in high school thinking that I was in trouble, only to discover that I had 365 roses delivered to school for our 1 year anniversary, a rose for every day we have been together. You always put effort into everything you did for me.

Often, many women wind up in bad situations with the wrong man, but they stay anyway. I know women who have been cheated on, lied to, talked down to, emotionally abused or even physically abused. Unfortunately, I, too am one of those women who have found themselves in a bad situation with the wrong man. But there is a difference. I know when I am not being loved correctly. I know what it feels like for someone to love me properly. Thanks to you, I am able to recognize when I need to walk away because I know what I deserve and I know that it is possible for a girl to have everything she wants and then some. Some women may struggle with confidence issues, or maybe they just never had anyone to teach them how they are supposed to be treated.

Anytime I have ever found myself in a situation with a man who makes me unhappy, or who disrespects me, I think back to how you made me feel because you never let the smile leave my face for not even a single day that we were together. For some reason, women have it in their mind that they are only supposed to be that happy for the first few months or years and then the “honeymoon phase” wears off. But that is not true. You gave effort. You were consistent. You took care of me in every way. You taught me the meaning of true love at a very young age, which I am lucky enough to have experienced so early on. Some women have never experienced that, which is why they keep ending up with the wrong person because they were never taught how to be treated. You loved me the same on day one as you did at the end of our third year. I am forever thankful that you showed me what it felt like to be loved unconditionally and that you gave me a love for country music. So if you ever think of me, or if I ever cross your mind, just know that my life is forever impacted because of you.