A Breath of Fresh Air
By Tayler, age 16, California
I have been going through a lot this year, and I must say that it has changed me a lot as a person. I know now that I have to not let myself stay in a relationship that my heart isn't in because it isn't fair for the other person involved. When I got out of my relationship with my boyfriend, I was hurt and I was angry because he had made so many promises to me. He was my best friend for the longest time. And looking back, he did not treat me like I should have been treated. He was immature and an overall jerk.
I am young, and I realize that I cannot just stay with one person throughout high school. I have to allow myself to grow up and not linger on the past because, honestly, it was killing my spirit and who I am. After we broke up, my friends said I looked really good because they hadn't seen me this happy in a long, long time. It was a relief to not be in a relationship with him anymore, and on top of that, the fighting had brought down my grades, and I couldn't handle it anymore.
I know that the journey of high school is meant to prepare myself to be an adult, and letting him hold me back from really growing up is something I couldn't do anymore. I had to be free, and just live a little. People have been taught to hold back what they are really feeling to a point that it destroys every ounce of them. And I will admit that's how I was. I needed a breath of fresh air to help guide me on my way through the rest of my life. I am glad that I was able to fall in love, and fall out gently, because people just get tired of each other after a while, and getting space makes one really see true colors that the other expels.
I still haven't met someone worth giving my heart to again, but I know one day I will because I believe that someone else is out there, and they are going to make me feel like I am truly awake, and that is what I am waiting for - a breath of fresh air in spite of the storm.
Let love in, even though you have been hurt before, and allow yourself to feel something for someone again. If you don't get your heart back out there, then you won't ever know what is waiting on the other side.
xoxo,
tayler
