“How have you been?” I asked, trying not to cry.

“I… I’ve been listening to all of your favorite songs.” He paused for a minute. “Look, you can’t call me anymore. I’m sorry. Just… do what makes you happy.”

He hung up, and I whispered into the dead receiver, “What if I don’t know what that is?“

It’s been a long time since then, since the first time my heart was ever really broken. For a long time, I didn’t know what to do with myself – I just felt kind of empty, deflated. Directionless.

It took a while for me to realize that the relationship I had been in for two years had not been good one – we hadn’t been happy. And, even then, as I sat there with the silent telephone still in my hand, I wondered what happy really was.

But, believe it or not, that heartbreak is what I now consider to be one of my defining moments. It was exactly what I needed to begin to figure out who I really was – separate from anyone else.

I got to know myself.

And, you know what? I really like her.