The Texts People Never Sent Their First Loves

What would you say to the first person who broke your heart if you had the chance? This is the question explored by the #UnsentProject, a collection of anonymous texts people never sent to their first loves. Created by artist and Instagram model Rora Blue, the project is simple: Volunteers submit a name, a color, and most importantly, a message they never sent to the first person they ever loved. Blue prints out her favorites in the form of stickers, which she features on her Instagram and website.

"I started the project as a way for people to connect with each other," Blue tells Bustle over email. "I feel like this is a concept that many people can relate to and I wanted to find a way to artistically represent love."

It probably won't come as a surprise that the project includes its fair share of late night drunk texts, nor that the majority are on the dramatic side — after all, most of us found our first loves in high school, and teenagers aren't known for their stable love lives. That being said, this doesn't take away from the impact of the project, which Blue says has become cathartic for many people.

"I find it very interesting that most submissions are sad and addressed to men. There is definitely an abundance of humorous and cheerful submissions as well, but the majority are pretty upsetting," she writes to Bustle. "I think this is because people look for an outlet for their emotions when they are upset."

Of course, these are breakups we're talking about, so the Unsent Project also features a number of texts in the "better off without you" category.

And then there are the booty calls. (Unless they mean literal sleeping?)

In addition to providing an outlet for people to express their heartbreak, Blue writes on her website that she was interested in the "color [we] see love in," hence the required color choice for each submission. She periodically uses the colors to arrange submissions in collages, which she writes are intended to represent the similarities and differences in people's feelings toward their first loves.

The project has proven popular online; Blue tells Bustle she gets anywhere from 20 to 50 new submissions each day, on top of thousands of submissions already waiting. Some may find the sheer volume of submissions overwhelming, but Blue says she finds it exciting. "I hope that this project can reach millions of people and encourage them to connect with each other," she writes. "My biggest dream is to write a book and have collages all over the world."

Check out a few more images below, and head over to her Tumblr for the full archive.

Images: Courtesy of Rora Blue (7)