I don't know.

For example, I didn't become a man of steel.

Loneliness didn't make me stronger.

It made me more honest.

I finally understood what things are truly important to me, and which I tolerated solely out of fear of being alone.

I learned to notice when I'm feeling down, instead of convincing myself, "Oh, everything's fine."

I learned to walk away from people not because they're bad, but because I feel like I'm not myself anymore.

I learned not to confuse attention with care, texting with intimacy, and loneliness with feeling useless.

And yet, there are still days when I long for the past.

Not even for the person.

The version of myself that still believed that if you tried hard enough, you could make someone stay.

Now I know: it's impossible.

You can't keep people with the right words, beautiful actions, or your own perfection.

And perhaps there's a frightening, yet very beautiful freedom in that.

Someone might leave.

Someone might stay.