“okay, bye.”

“bye.”

The last words we spoke before you became irrelevant. You were now dead; alive only in my memory. We had broken up. I never imagined this would happen. But here we are.
I couldn’t be better off.
Without you I returned to the free-spirited girl I once was. I spend more time with my previously neglected friends. I am rekindling old hobbies; I have time again to read. I have time to focus on myself. I am creating new goals for myself, raising my standards, setting high expectations. I tell myself that I only need me to be happy, and I believe it.
No longer will I fall under your immeasurable expectations. They changed me and squelched my voice. I was opinionated and so were you. We disagreed on topics and sought to make compromises. Funny how only I actually ever changed.
People have flaws. I have plenty, I know. I saw yours and didn’t care much at first. I ignored them. I let them be overshadowed by the wonderful things you did. You were a perfect boyfriend, too perfect. Your flaws stemmed from a lack of confidence. They began to suppress me, changing my mannerisms. I never imagined the headstrong girl I was could have become so spellbound and dumb. Someone who believed it was her fault and apologized, when it was your insecure self who overreacted over nothing. But, I guess that’s what happens when you’re “in love”.
Since our splitting, I have devoted time to the betterment of myself. I know now that you did not determine my value. I don’t need a boy to tell me I’m pretty or smart or talented. As c***y as it sounds, I know that myself. I have recognized the potential within myself and I will not let anyone stop me from accomplishing my dreams.
I think of the past and myself now through a flower. She was alone and wished for company. One day another flower joined her. He was very charming. She became happy and grew. Though after a while, she began to wilt. She realized it was because some of her water and nutrients were being taken by her accompanying flower. She at first got upset, but changed her mind because after all, he was giving her the company she desired. Over time she grew weak and dull. She wasn’t the once vibrant and strong flower she was before. After a while she realized that he was nice and all, but something was wrong. He had spread his roots all around hers. He had encircled her, depleting her soil of all nutrients. Because he was being fed, he grew tall and hovered over her. She was in his shadow, lacking the right nutrients to live a full and enriched life. He was choking the life out of her. He was a weed. He wasn’t a flower; it was his façade. He presented himself as some beautiful flower, when he was just a weed.
I am now free from commitment, free from repression. I realized that sometimes the best of people carry deep issues that can seriously change your relationship with them. I now know I must be careful of who I put my trust in. Just as the flower and the weed, you can believe someone is one thing and over time discover that you were very wrong. Sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
I now strive to be a sunflower. I want stretch out my limbs and grow sunward. I want to sprout tall and strong. I want to be surrounded by others who nurture and grow with me, not hold me back. A sunflower already knows it’s beautiful, it doesn’t need reassurance. A sunflower doesn’t consider the flowers next to it either. It simply grows toward a warm and bright yellow future, flourishing care free.