a letter, not a love poem

The Girl They Never Took
the Time to Know

πŸ–€πŸŒ™
for Shannelle
what they saw

They called you spoiled
before they ever called you friend. πŸ’­
They saw the shine around your life ✨
and thought they understood your heart
without ever looking underneath. πŸ₯€

They judged the things you had,
the way you carried yourself,
the life they thought they sawβ€”
but never stopped long enough
to meet the girl behind it all. πŸ«‚

But I did. ❀️

how it started

I met you at tuition πŸ“š
when I wasn't searching for anybody.
I had gotten used to being alone πŸŒ‘,
to empty spaces beside me,
to keeping pieces of myself
where nobody could reach them.

Then somehow…
you walked into my life. 🌷

And you didn't feel like another person passing through.
You felt like a reason
to make room for someone again. 🫢🏽

the shape of you

You're friendly in a way
that makes silence feel less lonely. 🀍
You've got those crazy vibes πŸ˜‚βœ¨
that can turn an ordinary moment
into something worth remembering.

And somewhere between the jokes,
the conversations,
the random moments,
and all the little things
that probably don't mean much to anyone elseβ€”
you became someone I cherish. β€οΈβ€πŸ©Ή

the truth of it

I love you, Shannelle. 🫢🏽

Not because you're perfect,
but because you're you. 🌻

Because beneath everything people assumed about you
was just a girl who wanted people around her,
a girl who wanted to be understood,
a girl who deserved to be known
before she was judged. πŸ₯ΊπŸ€

And I'm glad I got to know you. πŸ«‚

what I'm afraid of

Sometimes I think about how easily
people can disappear from our lives. 🌧️
One day someone is there,
laughing with you πŸ˜‚,
annoying you 😭,
making memories πŸ“Έβ€”

and suddenly they're just a memory themselves. πŸ₯€

I don't want that with you.

I don't want to look back someday
and call you someone I used to know. πŸ’”

what I want instead

I want to keep you as my friend. 🀞🏽❀️
Through the stupid arguments πŸ˜‚,
the random conversations,
the laughter 🀣,
the chaos 😭,
and the days when neither of us
knows what we're doing. πŸ’€

Even when you start flexing that iPhone πŸ“±πŸŽ
while I'm standing there with my Android πŸ“±πŸ˜‚
like I committed a technological crime.

πŸ“±βœ¨Yes, Shannelle. We get it. You have an iPhone. Congratulations. Please allow the Android community to breathe. πŸ˜­πŸ’€

But jokes aside…
I'm genuinely grateful I found you. πŸ₯Ήβ€οΈ

Because I wasn't looking for a friend
when you came into my life.
I was used to being alone. πŸŒ‘

And somehow, without even trying,
you became one of the people
I'd hate to lose. πŸ«‚πŸ’”

who you are

So let people keep their assumptions. πŸ€·πŸ½β€β™‚οΈ
Let them judge what they don't understand.

I know the girl behind the rumors. 🀍
I know the girl with the vibes ✨,
the laughter πŸ˜‚,
the kindness 🌷,
the heart ❀️,
and the occasional iPhone superiority complex πŸ˜­πŸ“±β€”

and I'm grateful that life let me meet her. 🫢🏽

S

You aren't just the girl people thought they knew.
You're Shannelle. 🌻

and I'm glad I got to know you β€οΈβ€πŸ©ΉπŸ«‚