Julia Malushko

To The Person Who Had Their Heart Broken: You Deserved A Kinder Goodbye

I think the hardest part about an unexpected goodbye is that it goes against every idea you had in your head of them. A person, whom you’ve once deemed an important character in your life’s arc, suddenly leaving with a path ahead full of hurt.

A person you once dreamt a future with. A person that you’ve shared your past, your present, your deepest desires, your fears, and your wants with.

This person, in your eyes, could have never hurt you. Not like this. Because someone who cares about you and is meant to be in your future would never leave with such a destructive trail.

Maybe deep down you knew things were ending. Maybe deep down you too were ready to say goodbye. But not in this kind of way.

Not in the kind of way that leaves you filled with more questions, anxiety, and doubt. Not in the kind of way that makes your chest ache in indescribable pain. Not by physical force, but the kind of pain that no strike or hit could ever replicate.

Because some goodbyes can be cruel. Some goodbyes aren’t even goodbyes at all but rather actions or inactions that are so vile and awful that the only result is to part ways. Ghosting, cheating, stonewalling, emotional abuse, whatever it may have been. Whatever the last straw was or how they left, please know you deserved a kinder goodbye.

It’s not your fault for how they left you. It’s not your fault that someone took your presence and love as something disposable.

Because your heart is not a door to be slammed shut once someone’s stepped through it. Your heart is a delicate and beautiful piece of you which shouldn’t be taken for granted.

It should be treated with care, like fine art. It should be left with respect and mutual kindness, even if there needs to be a goodbye.

But whatever may have happened, your heart reaped the misfortune of an unkind goodbye.

While you may still feel small, bruised, and uncertain now, I urge you to create that closure for yourself. You know you deserved a kinder ending. You deserved much more than the half-assed goodbye in which you have been forced to face.

You deserved so much more, and you do deserve so much more. But for now, make peace with how it ended. Know it wasn’t and is not your fault for how someone chose to walk out so cowardly. And remember, while you deserved a kinder goodbye this time, there is always someone out there who will never take your heart and your love for granted.