"1 universe, 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas and I had the privilege of meeting you."

Love-- whenever we think about, dream about, or hope for love we think of it as magically romantic and perfect; our stomachs full of butterflies and our hearts completely love sick. But that’s not always how it goes… As a matter of fact, sadly, we have to go through a lot of heartbreak to get to the one that lasts and works… and that’s only if we’re lucky.

You may finally get to date the guy you’ve had a crush on for years; you may get to date a guy that you just met, but fell instantly for. Whichever the case, let’s just say neither one works out. You could’ve been in the relationship for one month or two years, but you breakup just the same. And it hurts like nothing ever has before. Except for the numbing cringe that comes when you breathe, you can’t feel anything. A few weeks later you can function a little more normally than you were able to before. You start to heal, and you analyze what went wrong, what went right, what was good, and what was bad. You are healing and you are starting to feel again. It could take anytime from two months to a year, but you will be alright. And you will have a wonderful memory; one that will keep you warm on cold nights.

A few years later-- you’re looking back at that special someone and your time together. You let yourself feel all the emotions you did then and you realize something you never did before: in all the universe, with all its people, you got to fall in love with that person! And they fell in love with you! You got to meet, date, laugh, love, and live with that special someone in that singularly, allotted time. So many people go their whole life without even getting a glimpse of what that kind of love feels like. They live vicariously through their friends, family, or the girl in the chic-flick. You start to realize that even though it ended in heart ache, and you had to go through hell and back, that it was all worth it. You got to spend that time with that person. And maybe you won’t be able to hold that person forever, or ever again, but you got to. You got to feel love and life like some can only dream about.

We learn through our heartaches and we live through them. They’re never easy and they never feel good, but we survive. And nine times out of ten, we can learn to love the memory.

One thing they don’t tell you in romance novels is that love doesn’t come without a price. But when it’s your turn, and your happily ever after comes true, you’ll be all the more grateful, thankful, and committed to it. Guard your heart, but don’t ever be afraid to love… it’s worth the pain.