Nearly every girl out there has been dumped at least once in her lifetime. It’s generally a normal part of life, unfortunately. On the first evening of my junior year, I myself, began coping with having been dumped that night. It’s not exactly the way that I’d imagined my junior year of college at Assumption starting, but, I have tried to take it in stride and turn it into a learning experience for myself.

There’s so many articles out there for what to do with your significant other, from a long list of dating ideas on Pinterest, to what to buy (or, DIY) them for every occasion. The media often seems to cater to people in relationships as well, from the lingerie commercials that make a girl want to cringe, or the crummy Zales commercials about the girl who gets a gigantic diamond from her own personal version of ‘Prince Charming’.

So, here’s an article about how to live it up. Take the time and space to love yourself. That sounds extremely cliché, but it’s the truth. First, put away, or throw out anything that reminds you of the relationship. Second, take care of the Facebook status thing. Depending on what your status with the person is now, decide whether you will just change your status to single and not tell them, or give them a heads-up just in case others ask them about it. Third, unfriend them on Facebook. Someday, you and the person might become best friends. Today is not that day though. If you’re the person who got dumped, it generally is not helpful to see how and in what way that your former mate is going on with their life.

Step four is for you to take some time to wear black clothes, baggy hoodies and eat ice cream with a spoon out of the carton, while sitting on the couch. Some people prefer to go to the gym. If you are that person, you are superior to most. Here’s a great list of shows to binge-watch. Two Broke Girls, the Mindy Project, New Girl, Dancing with the Stars, Modern Family, the Middle and Young and Hungry.

Here’s some important dos and dont's advice:

1. Make sure that you don’t date anyone new for at least a month after your break-up. Take time to get over things, before you start a new relationship.

2. Connect with friends you strayed from while you were in a relationship. It tends to happen to the best of us, even though we all try to keep in touch with friends.

3. Seek out new friends. Try to be open-minded to meeting new people during this phase of your life.

4. Spend time with family. Whether you live at home and commute to school, or you live on campus and regularly call home, take some solid time to go home for a weekend and just hang out with your parents and siblings. Time with the people you love, who love you most, is sure to bring a smile to your face.

5. Get a Tinder. Although you might not quite be ready to move on, which, is probably a good thing, in itself, set up a new Tinder profile (or re-activate your old one). Being able to realize that there are more people out there (there are truly, more fish in the sea, as they say), will help you think about new possibilities and decide whether you feel like you’d like to be on your own for a period of time, or if you’d like to start going on dates again and meet someone new.