Oh my, I don't even know where to begin. I've changed so much over the past year and a lot more over the past 3 years. I guess I'll just list off some of the biggest things.
I used to be really depressed and I was even a little bit suicidal for a while, but I overcame that. I won't go into what caused that depression, but I will say that I found a way to rid myself of that. Now, I feel a lot better and a lot stronger than I used to be.
I've also matured a lot over the past year. I used to see the world in pretty simple terms, but now I feel like I understand myself and the world around me a lot better now. I've come to know the people in the world who have good hearts and the totally wicked people out there, and I understand how to deal with all of them now. My mind has grown sharper, in my opinion.
One of the best developments is that I think I finally found who I am. Before, I didn't really understand who I was or what my purpose is in life it seems a lot clearer to me now. I found the people I truly care about and the life I want to live.
I also picked up writing and I'm also trying to learn how to speak Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish. I get teased a lot about watching anime and wanting to learn Japanese, but hey, I don't really care what other people think. That's the other thing I've learned, what people think of you doesn't really matter.
The last major thing that I've realized through dating is that there's more to a person than what you see on the outside. I also realized how important it is to treat others with respect and how important kindness is.
If you want to hear some words of wisdom, here are a few bits of advice I have for you. No one's perfect, and you're no exception to that rule; accept yourself for who you are. Be your own person and don't listen to people who want to bring you down, they don't matter. Don't cut others down to raise yourself up in life. This last one may seem cliche, but treat others the way you'd like to be treated.
Anyways, sorry for rambling so much, I hope you took something away from this. Thanks for listening!
-Midnight
Edit: I used to be fairly shy and quiet, afraid to stand up for myself and defend my opinions. Now, I'm a lot stronger and unafraid to call people out on their mistakes and stand up for myself. I will admit I've over corrected myself a little bit. I've kind of developed a temper over the past year, so if someone is a jerk to me or my friends, I get pretty nasty. I don't actually fight people, but I do yell sometimes. Oh well, I'm sure I'll fix that eventually.