I was lost and broken for most of 2018 and some of 2019.

At the end of the school year in April 2019, I finally let go of the toxic person who ruined me.

I wasn’t Alexis anymore. I was this sad and depressed girl who didn’t love herself because of how someone else treated her.

This person made me feel like I was always wrong, even if I was just expressing my feelings.

He made me feel useless. No matter what I did, it wasn’t enough.

I would drop anything and anyone for this person. It wasn’t appreciated.

He was the person who made me transfer out of my old school because I felt as if I couldn’t be my true self.

He was the source of all my problems. So I left. I ran as fast as I could away from him.

I left the person who made me hate myself, and finally, I felt free and alive.

I was a new person; I believed in myself. I had a new found hope.

I took a couple of months to enjoy myself, my family, and my friends. I took time to reflect on everything from the past and to decide what I wanted moving forward.

I went on a vacation and enjoyed time with my family.

I tried new things like putting myself out there and becoming an Orientation Leader.

Meeting people was a huge step for me because I had never been the type to put myself out there. I didn’t know how to open up to new people.

In the summer of 2019, when I turned 21, I finally decided I needed to be with someone who loved and cared for me the way I love and care for others. Someone who would put me first no matter the circumstance.

It took me 21 years to realize what I needed and what kind of person I wanted in my life.

A couple of months after the removal of toxins from my life, I found the person I was looking for.

I found the person who made me fall in love with myself all over again, and it had only been three days.

This is the person who makes me smile and laugh effortlessly, no matter the situation.

This is the person who encourages me to set goals. The one who loves me whether or not I achieve them.

My boyfriend is one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met. He works multiple jobs, goes to school, and still treats me like an absolute princess.

Regardless of whether he’s tired, sad, or in any other mood, he never neglects me.

And ladies, that is how it should be.

I dropped the narcissistic, drunk fratboy for someone who truly loves me for me.