To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Happy Valentine's Day!

Another Valentine's Day and your girl is still (say it with me) single as a pringle. The difference this year is that I am truly ready to mingle but not until I get a few things off of my chest. For the past few years on V-Day, I have shared tips on loving yourself, hanging with your girlfriends, how to get over being single and a whole bunch more but I have never dived into the actual topic of relationships. Let me be honest, I haven't had a multitude of "relationships but trust me when I say I have had enough. Lord knows I have had my fair share of good, bad and ugly male interactions.

Going into 2020 with an open mind and heart for the opposite sex I figured why not let the boys that I've loved before know how I really felt. Lay it all out on the line on a "Thank You Next" type vibe.

My open letter to my ex's (no names will be used to protect the guilty and innocent):

To all the boys I've loved before,

Let me start out by saying thank you. Thank you for showing me how a woman should and shouldn't be treated. Thank you for the laughs, the conversations, the joy, and the pain. Thank you for the gifts some amazing and some trash. Thank you for ruining some of my favorite songs and still putting a smile on face when I hear others. Thank you for the late-night conversations and the morning arguments. Thank you for being there when I needed it most. Thank you for breaking my heart because I learned to grow from it.

A few of you showed me nothing but good times and love but we both knew it wasn't meant to be. On that same note, some of y'all put me through so much (insert curse word) that I can call bull-ish in the drop of a dime now. I still roll my eyes thinking about the plans we made and the text we sent. No matter the boys I've dated there has always been one in particular that crosses my mind from time to time...

To the southern gentleman, we weren't really together but we were together you know, that I still question to this day. I had to choose between school or you and at the time school was more important. I always wondered where we would be if I stayed. Sometimes I hit your Facebook page just to see how you and your family are doing. The timing was just off though and I had to grow through it.

From the boy in kindergarten that broke my heart when he told me I was too tall, to the guy in high school who was always there from junior prom to my best friend's birthday party. The guy from Detroit that I met by chance and the guy from Memphis that introduced me to Yo Gotti. My high school crush who should have stayed in 2007 and the online dating cutie that had no romance. All the guy's I've loved (or at least dated) before made me the woman I am today. Prepared to meet my forever love. I am grateful and thankful that we didn't last because I know that God has my Boaz.

To all the boys I've loved before, thank you and I wish you happiness and joy!