Dating; it can be the best time of your life. A beautiful experience in which two souls come together miraculously and try to fit together like a puzzle. A time in which two individuals who may have known each other for a week or their entire life join to make the most of their new lives together.

However, as most of us are aware, unless you end up marrying the person you call your "one true love," it will end. And when it does, it can seem like the end of the world, especially if it was a long-term relationship. But what most people don't understand is that no matter what goes on during the relationship, it's what happens after the relationship that is a true test of character.

Here are some things I have learned in the month or so after my first break up that I feel are important:

1) Time will answer all of your questions.

Just because things may not be clear at the time of the break up does not mean that they will forever be blurry. Life doesn't work that way. Patience is the key to everything, and if you give it the right amount of time, things will all sort themselves out and become very clear.

2) Sometimes, people fall apart so they can fall back together.

I can't exactly say this applies to me at the moment since my ex has moved on (significantly faster than I figured he would, but I'll get to that later), but the many people that I have talked to about my break up have all said something along the same lines of if it was meant to be then it will. I have found that to be a little cliche, but there is a lot of truth behind it. Just because my ex and I aren't dating anymore doesn't mean that things are forever lost. I'm not saying that I'm holding out for the slim chance that we will one day reunite as we once were, but not all hope is lost. Similar to a book with a huge cliff hanger, I am just reading along and waiting to see what happens next.

3) Reminiscing is NOT illegal.

I am super guilty when it comes to looking back on the old photos of us together, listening to our song on repeat, looking at the things that were symbols of our relationship, the whole nine yards. I did it maybe the week after the break up because that's what is typical of a break up. However, I stopped that for a while until a couple days ago. Not because I hate being single or because I can't move on with my life, but simply because I miss the relationship. That's not illegal. You are allowed to miss something that was important to you. That relationship was almost a year strong. If you don't miss a relationship that goes on for that long then there probably wasn't anything there. I know I have no right to say that, but that is an entire year to get to know someone and fall in love with all of their great and not-so-great qualities. If you don't miss it then you weren't emotionally invested. But I digress.

4) It isn't a great idea to try and search for a new relationship right after leaving a committed one.

Don't get me wrong. I am certainly not able to say that I haven't been flipping through Tinder and occasionally swiping right. Now, with that in mind, I would like to just put a disclaimer out there: just because a girl is on Tinder does not mean she is looking for a relationship. I am certainly not ready for a relationship, I just go on to talk with people that I think are slightly attractive. That isn't wrong. Now, this is my personal opinion, but if you pull a move like my ex and jump straight into getting emotionally invested in a new individual right away after a break up, then you're setting yourself up for failure and the individual you are moving on with for the the potential to be hurt. I'm not able to say that it's a rebound because I don't know, but 9/10 chances are that is if it is a rebound, you're not going to last. You may be avoiding the loneliness of your recent break up or you're trying to make your ex jealous or some other reason that makes even less sense, but in the long run, it isn't going to work. I don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes people need to hear the truth, which leads me to my last point.

5) Don't try to cover your pain so you can keep someone in your life.

Also guilty. And I don't mean just putting on a smile and saying you're fine. You can cover your pain through passive aggressive actions towards your ex, getting upset with them over mentioning the idea of dating anyone else besides you or vise versa, getting emotional because they're talking with someone else... Basically anything that is not acting normal around your ex or anyone else for that matter. Find a way to vent. I wrote in a journal for the first two weeks after the break up, but I also had a support team of a couple friends and family members I would talk to about how I was feeling or things that me and my ex were going through that I just needed to talk about. Distractions also work to help you forget the pain. Whatever works for you.

While this chapter in your life is over, it doesn't mean that the theme won't come back later in life. Just remember that. If you just got out of a relationship that was like 3 months, then you shouldn't be overly upset, but if it was as long or longer than what mine was, just note that even with the difficult presses of break up drama, life's stresses, and everything you and your ex go through before, during, and after the relationship, you're life will never be the same. You have been forever changed because of one person. Most of the time for the better. So if you get the chance, even though you may not think it'll do anything, thank your ex. Because, even though they put you through a load of grief and heartbreak, they did give you something that is truly beautiful: something that was extremely difficult to say goodbye to.