Though I Have Loved Many Others, I Will Always Choose You

I have loved many before you.

I loved a boy once who tried to take everything good about me and turn it into something bad. I changed myself for him, then struggled to find myself again when he left suddenly.

I loved a girl once who told me she wanted to love me for the rest of her life, then found someone else and changed her mind. I loved her many times, and each time, she chose someone else over me.

I loved a boy who only loved me for my body.

I loved a girl who didn’t do anything wrong, but just wasn’t right for me.

I loved a boy who left me so many times that I would sit and wonder why I wasn’t good enough, why he didn’t want me, and what I could do to make him stay.

I know now that what I experienced with them wasn’t love.

I know now that these people had their place in my life for a while. They all served a purpose: to teach me a lesson.

The boy who tried to turn me bad taught me that the good parts of myself were golden and shouldn’t be tarnished.

The girl who chose someone else over me time and time again taught me that I deserve someone who will choose me, every time, without hesitation.

The boy who only loved my body taught me that my body is beautiful, but it is not the most beautiful thing about me. There is so much more to love.

The girl who wasn’t right for me taught me that you can do everything right, but the timing might be off, and it won’t work. She taught me that there’s nothing wrong with that.

The boy who made me question my own worth taught me that I shouldn’t have to do that. I shouldn’t have to wonder if someone wants me; I should know, wholeheartedly, that the person I love loves me back.

My past loves all taught me a lesson, and those lessons made me who I am today. They broke me down so I could build myself up again, stronger than ever before. They prepared me to be able to hand my heart to you and whisper, “please take care of it.” They taught me how to love someone, and I am now giving that love to you.

I know you have loved many before me, and I know that they have taught you lessons of their own.

I need you to hear me when I say this: Though we have loved many others, I will always choose you. If I were in a room with every person I’d ever loved before, my eyes would search for you. They could fall at my feet and promise me every beautiful thing in the world if I would just give them a chance, but I wouldn’t take it. I don’t want every beautiful thing in the world if I don’t have you.

So, please, take whatever lessons your past loves have taught you and use them to love me back, to choose me, and to trust that I will always choose you.