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Hey R. 
I found this on Read & Review and thought I'd stop by for a spell.
First, my grade. It's based on your story, and the fact that it's all Tell, there's no show in it.
Secondly, I love this story! I think we lived similar lives as youngsters. Maybe years apart (I'm 71), but still, very similar. Except there's one big difference. My HS sweetheart has always been my best friend. I loved her, but in retrospect, I'm glad we never married, or became serious.
Now, about this Show n Tell bit. When you tell a story, it's just that, you tell it. Despite all your words in this story, it didn't pull me in emotionally. That's what showing does. So how can you pull a reader in emotionally? Descriptions, dialog. Your descriptions were pretty good, but you had no dialog in it. I glanced at the other items in your port and did not see any dialog in those either. Again, I glanced. It can be hard to write dialog, especially when going on memory. What's a person to do? The obvious answer is not use it (meaning you most likely end up telling the story), or make it up! I don't mean to lie, but surely you remember something he might have said, or have an idea of what he said. Go with it!
This is an excellent place where you could have used dialog. I once lived a relationship so toxic that when I ended it and heard someone who claimed to love me say he would end his life if I did not take him back, I thought I had made the biggest mistake. I am young, already an adult, but still young, and I do not know many things. The only thing I know is that nothing I ever had compared to what I felt for a certain man once. A small edit may be needed, perhaps something like this. I was once in a relationship that was very toxic. When I ended it, he said, "IF I can't have you, there's no reason to keep on living, is there?" I thought I had made the biggest mistake in ending things. After all, I was young, an adult yes, but still young, and I did not know many things. My reply to him was, "Don't end your life over me. You still have so much to live for!"
There are other places I'm sure, this one just jumped out at me. This is a nice essay, thank you for sharing!
Jim
WDC POWER Reviewer 
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