It's been one week since the break up. Night time is the most difficult. My bed seems bigger. My house seems quieter. There's no one to say goodnight to and no greetings in the morning. It's just me. Even my reflection looks different.

Sometimes I find myself aimlessly swiping through my phone, out of habit, in search of those beloved squares.

But they are gone. No notifications. No late night or early morning talks or invites. No daily interactions or cute little gifs or memes to make me laugh. No reminders of our past together. Nothing. Just silence.

For the first time since college, I go to sleep by myself. I wake up, without turning over to be welcomed by some sort of greeting. I eat pizza without feeling like I need to take a picture to share where I am or who I'm with. In fact, I go to a lot of places and don't tell a soul. It's strange to be on my own.

Minus a few trial runs that died out way before four months had ended (that's being generous), I've been single for the better part of seven years. Or so I thought.

I have always prided myself in my independence. I live alone in a two-bedroom duplex and I do everything myself: pay my bills, work two jobs, clean when I want, do what I want, cook when I want, wear pants when I want... you get the point. I've prided myself in my life of feralhood (AKA lack of domesticity), but the truth is I was never alone. Social media was my boyfriend and that relationship had become my life.

Towards the end, I constantly had to see what he was doing, who he was with, where he was and what was going on in his world while I was away. I couldn't go to bed without at least checking in with him. Most nights, I didn't go to bed unless he was right there beside me. It was comforting to know he would be there when I woke up. Before I even brushed my teeth in the morning, I had a routine of rolling over and greeting him. I missed him while I was at work and would steal quick hellos or flirt in between classes. Sometimes, and I had to admit this, I would even check in with him while I was driving. I just couldn't wait to talk with him or see him.

I had become one of those girlfriends. The kind I always swore I would never be.

I had become codependent.

So last week, I broke it off. I deleted my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone. At first, I played it off like it wasn't a big deal. But the truth is, this has been one of the most difficult break ups for me. I miss social media. I miss feeling connected. I actually feel lonely at night. All those years I had prided myself in singlehood, I really wasn't alone at all. There was always the comfort of a comment or a message or an event invite.

Now it is just silence. The nighttime is really dark. I hadn't realized how comforting that rectangular nightlight had been under the covers.

As difficult as the separation has been, it has also been liberating. I've been going to bed and actually sleeping through the night. I wake up earlier, and most days, on my own, without an alarm. Without the constant distraction of checking in, I've actually been in the moment.

I'm a teacher at Hogwarts (my version of a magical classroom that I have created at a middle school in Bethany, Okla.). This year, I am teaching in a completely new room and I am teaching two completely different subjects: AVID (a college and career readiness course) and journalism (my former profession). It is a dream to teach both.

In the past, I had only taught sixth grade. Now, I am teaching all three grades at my school (sixth through eighth). This breakup could not have come at a better time.

Whether at Hogwarts or in my personal life, I feel like I'm a better human being. I am more purposeful in my interactions now because I'm not dependent on the footnotes of social media posts from friends. I've also discovered the friends who actually invest in me, not just my social media posts.

I'm not entirely bitter, however, I can admit my exes' strengths. Social media brought a lot of positive growth to my life, both personally and professionally.

I've enjoyed documenting my budding romance with Empire Slice House, one slice-of-the-day post at a time. I've made new friends through my peanut butter lip syncs and tales from Hogwarts. I've received endless support for my Baby Wizards through donations from Donors' Choose and Go Fund Me. I have enjoyed seeing friends from out of state get married, have babies and grow their families.

So, I've decided to call a truce with my ex. I will continue a relationship with social media, but on new terms only. I will be sharing my tales through Odyssey and my personal blog. I will share updates through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, but only once a week. Here, if you are so inclined, you can keep up with Hogwarts, my pizza and pb romances and whatever other shenanigans I have stumbled into.

Social media and I are friends. It's not complicated and we are never getting back together. I'm still sleeping on my own and in my own bed and I'm still determined to explore and enjoy the world as an independent woman. No selfies. No pizza posts (it's time I really cherished that relationship). No OOTD validations (turns out real life compliments are way better than likes or IG comments, BTW). I refuse to fall back into codependency. So, I will post links to my latest blogs and then get back to my life. My WiFi is staying shut off and my Netflix is still canceled. There's a great, big, real, tangibile world for me to discover. I'll be sure to check in weekly, to share my latest tale.

Feral