After being in a relationship with someone for so long, being single again feels as though you are riding a bike for the first time.

You have no idea what you're doing.

So now that I'm single, I don't know exactly how to live this kind of life. I don't have the same person to go to talk to when I'm sad. I won't be spending my Friday nights at his house curled in bed watching movies and playing video games. Things are changing and I don't quite know how to react.

What I do know is that I'm not ready to just jump right back into dating again. That person became a part of my life, how am I supposed to just replace them without time to heal? Why are we expected to bounce right back in and start seeing another person after the other? Why do people think that someone could be ready to date again after they just recently broke up? While it may be easy for some, it isn't for others. We need to have time for ourselves. To allow ourselves to grow and adapt to the changes we have made. I need to prepare myself to go back out there and continue my journey. I like to take things slow.

I'm tired of getting inboxes, asking to date and then getting hateful words because I say I'm not ready. Your anger doesn't show me you are the right one for me to see, that shows to me that you don't respect me enough to understand that I am not ready for it. Why would I get into a relationship, knowing I can't give that person the love the deserve because my heart still feels as though it belongs to someone else.

I don't wish to waste your time if things do not work out. I want to make sure that my heart is ready to move forward in my love life's journey. If it's not, I'll end up re-hurting myself, as well as someone who was ready to love me. That's not my intentions. I want to take time to learn more about myself. Start to really learn who I am. It's time for me to focus on me. While I don't believe the saying "you can't love someone without loving yourself first," I will say, that you can really love another more when you love yourself first.

You stop questioning why they love you because you know all the things that they could love. You trust them more because you know your self-worth. You know what you are capable of, and what you deserve, and you don't expect less. And if people think that's selfish that's their problem. The one you should care most about is you. And as said by Dr. Suess,

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is more youer than you."