I remember when he walked into my life, the moment when everything changed.
If I only knew then what I do now.
I would have never said yes. I would have never let him consume me the way he did.
I thought that the change was for good, or at least that’s what he convinced me to think.
Needless to say, it wasn’t only not good – it was a nightmare. Something you don’t recover from easily.
I don’t like to make villains out of people, but some of them don’t leave you any choice. In my life, he’s the villain.
I don’t want to hate him, even though he made my life miserable when I didn’t deserve it.
Nobody deserves such a thing. Nobody deserves to be betrayed, manipulated, and lied to.
Why is being a decent person so hard? It almost seems like it’s a special requirement these days.
What’s worse, it’s almost impossible to recognize a genuine person because the level of everyday manipulation and toxicity is through the roof almost everywhere you look.
I fell for it and now I know better. It put me under so much stress – I didn’t act like myself for months. I lost myself even though I never did anything wrong.
How can someone purposely decide to ruin the life of a person they’ve loved? I will never understand.
The pain of knowing that he did what he did just to hurt me tore me apart.
After some time, it started to become clear to me.
I started to see through his lies and finally free myself from his web of illusions – the false things he made me believe about myself, the false things I still believed about him.
It wasn’t my fault I loved, but it was my responsibility to decide not to be a victim.
I wanted to learn from my experience and not let one person measure my worth.
One day I just decided that enough was enough. I decided to finally start respecting myself.
If he was going to be a villain, I might as well be a superhero.
He tore my life apart but he couldn’t break me.
That’s why I’m here, now, writing these words – knowing I overcame my fears.
Now I know I’m a woman worthy of love and happiness, I don’t carry guilt or sadness in my heart.
Now I know my own strength. Whoever that scared little girl was, she’s not here anymore.
I will let no one dictate my life and what I should do with it, especially not an abusive man.
I’m finally taking my life into my own hands – and whatever happens to me I will be content because everything was my decision.
Luckily, it turns out I’m good at making decisions for myself – number one being ditching him from my life.
That’s when things started getting better.
I don’t stress over insignificant things anymore; I don’t care what others have to say about my life.
The only thing I care about is my well-being and the happiness of the people who truly love me.
There’s no other way to make peace with your past and yourself than to start radically loving yourself, forgiving yourself, and cheering for yourself.
Don’t accept love from others when you’re not giving it to yourself.
Love yourself, but love yourself truly. Not only when you’re doing great, but when you’re feeling low too.
Think of yourself as your friend. Would you criticize or comfort your friends when they don’t feel their best?
Don’t let experiences break you, learn from them, and come back stronger.
You’re not something that’s easily replaced, you’re a whole unique woman with exceptional abilities. Respect yourself.
You deserve the best. Why wouldn’t you? Don’t settle and never let anyone settle for you.
You deserve a man who will make you feel good, who’s mature enough to see what’s really important.
A man who will get a glimpse of your soul through your eyes the first time he sees you.
Keep believing in love like you kept believing in yourself, and once again prove to the world that nothing in this world can break a woman who knows her worth.
