Liv Lovelace: An Open Letter to the People Who Hurt Me

I've been holding on to this for a long time. I've been trying to find the right words, the right way to say it. But I'm not sure there is a right way. So I'm just going to start writing and see where it goes.

Dear people who hurt me,

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You hurt me. You broke my heart, you damaged my trust, and you made me question everything I thought I knew about myself.

I know that you didn't mean to. You were just trying to protect yourself or get what you wanted. But that doesn't excuse what you did.

I want to be clear: I'm not looking for pity. I'm not looking for you to feel sorry for me. I'm not even looking for you to apologize. I just want you to know that you hurt me. I want you to understand the pain that you caused.

I'm not going to lie, it's been really hard to forgive you.

I've had a lot of nightmares. I've had a lot of panic attacks. I've had a lot of dark days.

But I'm slowly starting to heal. I'm starting to find my way back to myself. I'm starting to learn how to love again.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me on my journey. I want to thank my friends, my family, and my therapist.

I'm not going to let you win.

You may have hurt me, but you didn't break me. I'm stronger now than I've ever been. I'm more resilient. I'm more compassionate.

I'm not going to let you control me. I'm not going to let you define me.

I'm going to live my life to the fullest. I'm going to be happy. I'm going to be successful.

And I'm going to help others who have been hurt. I'm going to show them that it is possible to heal. It is possible to forgive. It is possible to move on.

So thank you for hurting me. You made me a stronger person.

Sincerely,

Liv Lovelace