i win.

i had a thousand and one thoughts i wanted to type up today, but when i actually sat down to attempt it, all i could think about was an in-n-out milkshake and fall tv movie premieres. 

i'm fine.

but okay, we'll start here:

did i ever blog about my freshman year bully? he's the only person i've ever truly despised in my lifetime. he tried as hard as possible to make my life as crappy as possible during my second semester of college. joke's on him though, cause when i look back at that semester i remember it being one of the happiest times of my life. he did and said some pretty awful stuff to me, but the good outweighed the bad that semester.
as the good always does. 

anyways, i saw him for the first time since he returned from his mission today. i honestly forgot that he attended this school. i think of him so rarely. but that moment today in the library reminded me of this moment, though with a definite scale back on the drama. but there was immediate recognition in his eyes the moment i saw him. and even though a tiny part of me wanted to pretend we had never made eye-contact and walk past him and his girlfriend in ignorance, i knew that i couldn't. 

instead, i didn't blink. i looked right at him. at that face that i saw feign innocence and sweetness for months while trying relentlessly to tear me down. 

and i smiled. 

because guess what? his cruelty only made me better.  i became a stronger person because of his mistakes. and gosh darn it, i look at this life that i'm living and i'm happy about it. and simply being happy is the only way to beat a person who wants you to be miserable.
sorry to break it to you, blonde boy from amarillo, but i win.