I've said it before and I'll say it again; I've never been in love. I am 20-years-old and I have never been in a 'serious' relationship nor have I ever told a guy that I was in love with him. It's not because I don't want to experience this, because I do. I just want to experience all of the feelings that come with a serious relationship with the right person who has the same morals as I do.

"I love you" aren't words to just throw around.

So no, I have never been in love. That doesn't mean that I haven't had my heart broken.

I think that there is this stigma around the term "heartbreak." People associate it with love and breakups, but the truth is that we can get our heartbroken from many things. It isn't just the result of a bad relationship.

The dictionary definition of heartbreak is "overwhelming distress." It is not "overwhelming distress from a breakup" or "overwhelming distress from a bad fight with your significant other." Though those are both reasons we can experience this feeling, they are not the only reasons.

The loss of a loved one, losing someone you were close to or watching a friend walk away with no explanation; these are all alternative reasons as to why we may experience heartbreak, and the list goes on.

Sometimes, even being ghosted by someone you thought you meant something to can lead to the feeling of heartbreak. It is much more than the consequences of love.

I personally can say that I have experienced heartbreak. Actually, I have experienced this feeling many times.

I experienced heartbreak the time I lost three grandparents who all played an important role in my life. I experienced heartbreak the time someone important to me didn't show up on a very big day for me. I experienced heartbreak the time the person I had grown closest to became nothing more than a photo on my cell phone.

Sometimes heartbreak just happens, even from simple things, but it is important to realize that we can always overcome it.

The heart is a mysterious thing and even after being shattered into the tiniest of pieces, it can be pieced back together like new.

Many things lead to heartbreak and if you experience it, that's OK. It may feel like the end of the world but that feeling will only be temporary. We are all individually strong in our own ways, and we will always find a way to renew ourselves and our hearts.

It is OK to be heartbroken, even is it isn't from love.

It is OK to be heartbroken from loss.

It is OK to be heartbroken from letting go.

It is OK to be heartbroken from confusion.

It is OK to be heartbroken from stress.

It is OK to not know why you are heartbroken.

It isn't OK to think you will never beat the feeling because you should always be the strongest person that you know.