We often see people taking "breaks" from their relationships. They take time apart, grow in different ways and sometimes end up getting back together.

Some look down their noses at people who do this type of thing, but what we need to understand is that it's OK to do this!

We can't trap ourselves in relationships - romantic or platonic - just because we don't want to lose them completely. It's alright to take time to grow as an individual before coming back together and growing as a pair.

This doesn't even just apply to romantic relationships. Friendships can be full of ebb and flow.

Sometimes you'll pull apart and make new friends, only to pull back together stronger than ever. You'll have dry seasons where things are sort of bland between the two of you, and then you'll have flood seasons with a downpour of love and affection for one another.

And this is alright! Society needs to stop looking down on this.

Just because a pair of friends spends time apart does not mean that there are any "problems" with their friendship. You are allowed to have other friends. You are allowed to hang out with those friends. You are allowed to grow as a person and use that growth to strengthen your friendships.

I've had friendships where I've thought, "This isn't working. This is the end." And then a week later, we're laughing and it's stronger than ever before.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and sometimes taking time to be by yourself or with new people helps you appreciate what you had all along.

Don't feel bad for taking time to grow. Don't feel ashamed for taking breaks. Grow. Come back together. Let the past be the past and work on the future. And if it doesn't work out, then it truly wasn't meant to be. But I believe that what is meant to be will work out. It will always come back together in the end, no matter how much time or distance comes between.