What doesn’t kill you...

Tough love. Honesty and strength. Utter brutality. A change for the better.

Tough love means being true to me and being true to you, the one who receives the blow.

Yes, oftentimes truth hurts. But it is something that both you and I need. You need it so that things can get better and you can move on. I need it because I can no longer stand seeing you like this.

Sometimes, there is a wound so big that, no matter how many band aids you use to try and cover it up, the only way to survive is through cutting away the rotting flesh.

You'll always feel that a part of you is missing, but, I know you, and you'll get past it. You'll grow stronger and will learn how to accept the scars.

Perhaps you'll never speak to me again. Maybe you'll hate me for doing this to you, for making you like this. Perhaps, ten years down the road, you'll completely erase my existence from your memory. But I want you to know, what I'm doing now isn't because of hatred, boredom, or disdain. It's out of affection. It's because of love.