Dear Lea,

Although I haven’t been through the same ordeals as you, your story resonates with me. I am the type of person who wears my heart on my sleeve, I’m an open book and I am very loving. When I am falling for someone or even in the early stages I truly give it my all. I have been told I am too nice, etc. but I still refused to change my ways.

This has caused me a lot of pain. I have been broken up with many times, hurt, left by someone I care about with no explanation, but I believe we all go through these things. I think each of these experiences served their purpose, every one of these ‘loves’ although at the time it may be hard to see what the purpose was.

There came a time where I felt jaded and didn’t want to open up or trust again. However, I realized that I shouldn’t let these bad experiences or people who hurt me turn me into a cold and hard person. I love the person who I am who is loving, open, and goes all-in. And I know the person who is right for me will love that about me instead of wishing I was any different or take advantage.

The person I am with now does love that about me – and slowly I am learning to trust him and to not project residual pain and damage from previous lovers onto him because he isn’t them. It takes some opening up and getting used to, and pain and broken hearts are never inevitable, but I am a STRONG believer in “it’s better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.”

Hope this helps.