If you know me or follow me on twitter, than you know that I’m no stranger to heartbreak or a good ol fashioned broken relationship. If you follow me on twitter than you probably also know that a few months ago, maybe January 1st, that I started a new relationship…with myself, and it was the best decision I ever made, and I wish I had done it sooner.

I’ve taken myself on dates, pampered myself, spoiled myself with expensive things I didn’t need, but most importantly, I’ve gotten to know this new, grown-up version of myself and loving every single bit of it. I’ve gotten to understand this new meaning of peace, patience, love, respect, honor, and forgiveness.

I’ve discovered this new beauty in peace and what it means to productively maintain it because to this older me, peace is something I need to protect in order to safely protect my headspace of being okay with myself no matter what situations life may throw at me. I’ve learned to have patience with myself and the situations I’m in and having the patience to take it all one day at a time, brick by boring brick. I’ve learned what it actually feels like to really love myself for its entirety, and Yooooooooo, I’m amazing!!!! And my capacity to love is truly remarkable.

From self love, I learned the importance and meaning of having respect for myself which ultimately includes a multitude of things, mainly regards to making sure I’m not compromising myself for another person or situation because it may be the popular opinion. From there, I understood what my mom meant by always honor myself. It meant looking at my flaws and shortcomings and seeing them as just points for future personal growth AND remembering that they don’t define me in any way.

The most important thing I learned in dating myself was learning the important in being able to forgive myself. I’m no stranger to making mistakes, but I am a stranger to forgiving myself for those mistakes because it seems too easy. What I didn’t realize was that by not forgiving myself myself, I ultimately wasn’t learning and I definitely wasn’t growing. So, I learned to forgive myself because I’m human and I’m allowed to make mistakes – I just needed to figure out what lesson I learned from those mistakes and how to not make them again porque tú sabes lo que es, GROWTH!

And that’s what I learned in being in a relationship with myself. I highly recommend.

Keep living, loving, and laughing.