For The Brokenhearted

Love hurts. It's a fact that has been established millions of times since people took over this planet. The havoc love can wreak on one's life is a universal truth. Which makes me wonder why no one ever taught us how to deal with it. In school, we were taught our 123s and ABCs. We were equipped with knowledge on sciences and sports. We were instructed on how to cut frogs open, how electricity works, we were even drilled on what to do during an earthquake. But why were we never given a step-by-step recovery guide in case someone trampled on our hearts?

Or were our teachers just as clueless? Were they hurting too? Most people - like us - were left with no choice but to let love be the teacher. And love has a lot of lessons to teach.

You haven't known love if you haven't experienced staring at a phone that just refuses to ring, sobbing loudly into a pillow, wondering why sad songs suddenly become gospel.

True, it's not fun. There is no joy in waking up with swollen eyes, in figuring out what went wrong, in guessing if he still thinks about you, in weighing if there was any truth to anything he ever said, in hoping that there is still a chance.

But find comfort in the fact that you are not alone. There are broken hearts all over the world.

Somewhere in South Africa, a girl is looking through old photos, wondering if she should burn them.

Somewhere in New York, a girl just sent an angry e-mail to an ex and immediately regretted it after.

Somewhere in New Zealand, a boy is getting drunk because the girl he loves is getting married tomorrow.

Somewhere in Spain, a woman just broke down after finding out that her husband is cheating.

You are not alone. Yours is not the first heart to be broken nor will it be the last. But know that the human heart is strong enough to withstand pain and powerful enough to move on and start again.

You will heal, like all the others did, like everyone else will.

Things will get better, although it's hard to imagine now. One day, when you wake up and realize that not all men are evil, you might even decide that you are ready to love again.

In the meantime, I will be here to listen to you denounce love even if we know you don't really mean it. I will be here for late-night pigout sessions. I will be the audience to your drama queen. I will participate in memento-burning ceremonies. I will strap my seatbelt on and go where your mood swings take me. And I will try to stop you from drunk-dialling - and intoxicated texting and e-mailing.

Because if there's one thing a broken heart needs - it's the presence of a friend.

I should know - you showed me that.

Please remember - only your heart is broken..

But you will always be whole to me.