Thank you for showing me how much I've grown. We've all gone through break-ups, no matter how big or small. How you respond when it all goes down the drain can really be a testament to how mature you are at the time. When you're in sixth grade and your "boyfriend" dumps you over AIM because you didn't put "ilysmx3" in your profile, you cross out his name in your agenda book and avoid him in social studies for the rest of the year. In high school things get a little more complicated. There are stronger feelings and way more hormones. So when you hear that your boyfriend plans on breaking up with you before school the next day, you call him seven times and put lyrics from "Dear John" by Taylor Swift as your Facebook status before you even know why it happened.
But as we transition into adulthood, things get a little less dramatic, and the dynamics of a break-up change. You get a better grasp of what it is you want and then you find someone who absolutely fits that mold. It's more than just walking from class to class together in high school. That person is your best friend, your confidant, and someone you're sure is who you're meant to be with. But then adulthood kicks in, and the two paths that were running parallel start to veer apart. Things get hard, and real adult issues need to be handled. What happens after graduation? Where are you headed in life and how does that involve us?
When at one point this is someone you think you're going to spend your life with, you see yourself slowing fading from where they see themselves down the line.The amazing thing though is, that's okay. There's no big blow-up argument, no vague posts on social media in an attempt to grasp their attention, because you've started to feel that way too. As Gwyneth Paltrow put it, "a conscious uncoupling." It's an adult conversation, a tough one, but one that needs to be had. Because although there will always be a place in your heart for that person, the first one to show you what love is supposed to feel like, you know it's for the best that you head your separate ways.
In that moment, you realize how much you've grown. Yes, you have a good cry with your roommates over some Ben and Jerry's and a bottle of Moscato, but then you pick yourself up. And you thrive. Instead of resenting your ex, you feel a sense of relief. There's no subtweeting or trying to interpret their Instagram caption because you know exactly why the break-up happened. And it was for the best. Which now makes it easier to move on, because there wasn't some awful thing that happened. It was just two paths that didn't have the same destination, even though you're glad they crossed.
