I left 4+ years between the end of my first relationship and my current one. It lasted 6 months, and was so bad that I needed that long to find myself again. I was only 15. I WOULD NOT have begun my current relationship if I didn& #39;t see a future with him.

I& #39;ve celebrated 3 of my own birthdays with this man, 2 of his, I& #39;ve had dinners with his family, coffee with his parents without him. My ex& #39;s parents never wanted to get to know me, probably because I was one in a long line of girls. Now, his family is like my own

They invite me to their house, include me in plans, his grandmother bought me a 21st present for crying out loud. With my ex, every day was a battle that no 14/15 year old girl in the middle of her junior cert should ever go through. It was toxic, exhausting, unfair.

Aaron knows everything. He knows how I felt, he knows what I went through, every minor detail, he knows all of it. He& #39;s heard it all over and over again when it comes back to haunt me. He has never once made me feel like my ex did. He trusts me, I trust him. I CAN trust him.

That& #39;s the difference. I could never trust my ex. I was miserable. I cried every day because of him, and he made me feel guilty for it. I still cry now, but the difference is he comforts me, doesn& #39;t make me feel worse for showing emotion. That& #39;s the point of this thread.

Things do change. Who you thought was your world at 14 may not be your world at 21. There is someone better out there if you& #39;re spending your days and nights crying over your partner. I promise you. It is not normal to spend your days anxious because of your partner.

Letting them go will hurt so much, I& #39;m not saying it won& #39;t. But you will learn that you are so much more important than they make you feel. We& #39;re not perfect by any means, we fight like a married couple, bicker like teenagers and laugh like kids, but we love each other to pieces

And that& #39;s all it takes really, the willingness to keep going even in the hardest days. I see a future with him, I see a future with his family, my life has gotten better. Thank you @DanseiNoKira for both being my best friend, and for putting up with my sappy butt https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤭" title="Face with hand over mouth" aria-label="Emoji: Face with hand over mouth">I love you https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💖" title="Sparkling heart" aria-label="Emoji: Sparkling heart">