Making real connections can be difficult for anyone.

We look high and low for someone who has the qualities we find attractive and lovable.

When we find that special someone, we invest our heart and soul into them.

Getting to know them, their families, their quirks, who they are as a person, and all of the little seemingly insignificant things that other person would never even notice.

And we hope that they do the same for us.

After months, or even years, of having our lives revolve around the one we so dearly care about and love, there often comes a time when we're no longer in the relationship for the right reasons.

We don't look at them and get the same feeling of fluttering butterflies.

We don't listen to them talk and fall into a trance that only the sound of their sweet voice can put us in.

The heart-pounding, breath-taking love we once had has now been replaced by feeling trapped and wondering where it all went wrong.

You tell yourself you still love them.

But are you in love with them?

Are you truly, undeniably, positively happy?

Maybe you're telling yourself, "I want to try to make this work because if we break up, I've wasted 2 years of my life."

Time passed with a person you love, regardless of the end result, is never wasted.

However, time spent unhappy and unloved is.

Don't worry yourself sick thinking about how you've gotten to know every little thing about each other.

Because even if it seems exhausting to have to start over and learn about someone new, it can be so exciting.

All the happiness you felt when you were learning and growing with your first love, you will feel again...and ten times more.

Our lives shouldn't be controlled by our fears.

We are not defined by our anxieties.

Leave someone worth leaving.

Love someone worth loving.

And most importantly, learn to love yourself.