Dear Old Friend,

As I sit here thinking about the things I learned at church today, something hit me.  During the last four years of my life, most of my time and attention was spent on you.  Instead of showing you the appropriate way to act towards a girl, I allowed you to believe that a girl should be pushed around, made to follow what you say, and scared to do anything you wouldn't approve of.  Shame on me.  I am sorry for not showing you that how you treated me was wrong.  That I, as a girl, as a daughter of God, should not be forced to do anything I don't want to do.  That I don't have to listen when you get angry and cause me to tremble in fear because you MIGHT do something.  That I don't have to answer your texts as soon as I get them.  That I don't have to talk to you if I am mad at you.  What you did wasn't that nice or appropriate, but I shouldn't have allowed it to happen.  For that, I am sorry.  I am sorry that I placed in your mind expectations of how girls should act.  How you treated me should not be how you treat other girls.  Please don't do this to any other girls.

Now that I am out of it, though, realize that you no longer have any power.  I know how I want to be treated, I know that I will not allow another boy to do what you did to me.  I am really starting to mend the broken pieces, and because of that, I know that I can move on happily, without looking back.

I know what I want in life, because you showed me the opposite.  For that, I say thank you.  Without getting out of whatever we had, I wouldn't have seen that it was wrong.  That a girl shouldn't be treated like that.  My name is Symone Misao Stout, and I deserve better.  Sure, that may be a selfish thing to say, but it is true.

I don't hate you, and I am not mad about what you did.  I have forgiven you for all that.  I just wanted to say that I hope you know that what you did wasn't right, and you have to make sure you don't do that to someone else.

Always,

Symone Stout