Rebuilding After Losing Myself

After three long years of convincing myself my relationship with my ex-fiancée was fine,

it finally ended. I was in my 20s, but that relationship aged me. I believed it was

my job to fix her, to carry everything, even if it meant enduring constant verbal and emotional

harm. She said she wanted to work things out, yet one day while I was at work,

she quietly moved everything out of my apartment. A week later, she officially ended

our three-year relationship by text. That night, before going out with a friend to

distract myself, my dad stopped me. He’s a quiet man, so when he spoke, I listened.

He told me I was strong—but that every time I got into a relationship, I lost myself.