1. When you realize that though nostalgia feels like a comforting place to live, the path ahead holds much more promise and much more hope.

2. When you notice yourself feeling thankful that something happened, rather than heartbroken over the fact that it ended.

3. The first time you receive good news and they aren’t the first person you want to tell.

4. The first time you feel butterflies in the presence of someone new.

5. When you believe your friend’s reassurance that love will come around again (and when you trust that this is not just her way of comforting you).

6. When they aren’t the first thing you think of when your alarm goes off at 6 am.

7. When you see the pink and orange glow o the sunset, and for one split second, you can’t remember why you were so sad.

8. The moment you realize that you are a forest, and he was just one tree.

9. When curiosity replaces fear, and you wonder if maybe something new and different could actually be okay, or even better.

10. When you trust someone else to carry some of the heaviness of sadness.

11. The very first time you are alone and don’t feel lonely.

12. When you realize that you do want them to be happy, even if their version of happiness no longer includes you.

13. The first time in a long time that you laugh until your stomach muscles are sore and you can’t catch your breath.

14. When you feel a familiar little spark of joy move through your body, amidst a time of sadness and grief.

15. When you get a satisfying breath of fresh air the first time you trust someone new with your story.

16. When you begin to understand that the ending did not steal the beginning or the middle, and thus, you can still cherish the story.

17. When your waking life finally feels better than your sleeping life, or at the very least, comparable.

18. When you unintentionally create something joyful and creative, something free of all of the heaviness you have been carrying.

19. When the tears finally come at a cozy coffee shop with your best friend, after holding them in for so long.

20. When you are able to feel proud of how hard you fought for something or someone, even if it didn’t turn out the way you had hoped it would.

21. When you acknowledge that letting something go doesn’t make it any less of a miracle.

22. When you realize that you don’t need to carry all of the pain with you and that instead you can pack it in a box and place it neatly in your closet.

23. When you begin to understand that when people leave you, it’s not because of you, it’s because of them.

24. When you allow yourself to let go of the path you were walking on, and have faith that maybe this new path could lead to something just as wonderful.

25. When you take a walk down memory lane and it feels comforting and special, rather than heartbreaking and painful.

26. When someone gives you a warm, cozy, hug and you feel safe and full, like some of your pieces have been glued back together.

27. When you find the courage deep within you to create your own closure, rather than waiting and waiting for something you may never gain from them.

28. When you feel a deep, heartfelt connection to a book or a poem or a piece of writing – when words touch you in an unexpected, yet meaningful way.

29. When you are able to turn the shame you feel surrounding something in your past into compassion for how much you have grown and how gracefully you have bloomed.

30. When it hits you that the views from the side of this new mountain you are climbing are just as exquisitely beautiful as the old mountain, you just have to take the time to look.