'Thank You For Proving Me Wrong': Teen Visitor Gushes In Love Letter To Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - A teenage girl from North Carolina is getting some buzz online over a passionate love letter she wrote about a recent visit to Detroit.

Cassie Mattheis, who was in town last week with a gathering of 30,000 Lutheran youth, said in her blog that she was "expecting a city filled with broken dreams and shattered glass" and "devoid of life and hope" — but found something else.

"I had this picture painted for me of Detroit," she told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeill. "People were like: 'Detroit? Really? You're gonna get shot, so have fun.' And I was picturing something completely the opposite of what I saw."

The 16-year-old said her trip to Detroit destroyed her preconceived ideas, showing her beauty and parks and people who are very much alive.

"I found a really vibrant, incredible city. I found Detroit to be stunning," she said. "I hadn't been there an hour and I was completely in love with it. I was like, I'm never going home; I'm not leaving."

While Mattheis mentions abandoned homes and "somewhat terrifying drunk Tigers fans," she says she wishes she could show the city to everyone who questioned her for coming.

"My favorite part was probably Monroe Street in Greektown. We ate there every night and went to Astoria pastry shop every single night. I spent way too much time at that place," she said, with a laugh. "Just the whole atmosphere there  — especially the nights that there were Tigers games — it was really alive and really fun and everybody seemed to be having a good time."

Mattheis adds that Detroit had the best food she's ever eaten and she wants to come back.

"Thank you for proving me wrong," she writes. "I love you, Detroit. Until Next Time." [Read the letter, here].