Hey all.

@ Adelaide. Wow, thanks! You have no idea how much it means to know my cr@ppy experiences and hard-earned life lessons have helped other people, much appreciated! I did smile at the idea of you screenshotting ( is that even a verb? who knows?!?) them!  Happy belated birthday too. I think Genie said it well for all of us about not making any possible contact from your ex the focus of the day. You’ve already come far enough to realise it wasn’t the right relationship for you, so even if she does contact you it’s not helpful, since you aren’t in the right space to want to be simply friends.  It’s awesome how much you’ve focused on staying open with other people and how many positive experiences it’s given you. There’s a big ‘Disney-esque’ romanticism pushed through media on finding the one person to fill all your human needs – which is ridiculous when you think about it in reality. Everything in life is a balance, including romantic and non-romantic relationships. It really is amazing what happens when you reach out to people and you are truly inspirational for doing so well.  As you can tell, I am a bit of a travel nut, especially now that I have retired so would love to hear more about the places you have lived if you don’t mind sharing.

@ Genie. Ha, yeah, right with you on how nice it is to know sharing our lessons and experience to help others. At the grand old age of 44, I got a few! It sounds like things are going really well with you now, slowly with the new guy and always looking forwards, not back. Congrats.

@Shelby. Yeah, I’m now in Koh Lanta, typing this from my balcony over the sea. It is very easy to live cheap here, most meals are £1-3 each, delicious fruit smoothies a £1 etc etc. People are so friendly, especially if you take the time to talk/smile. I love it. Will be heading off to Langkawi in Malaysia via Koh Lipe and then onto George Town before working back up to Vietnam, which I’m already looking forwards to getting my Mi Quang & Banh Mi fix! Sounds like you are still pretty stuck on not moving on and not taking off those rose-coloured specs……..I know there’s nothing we here can say to make that happen for you but I do hope and wish you don’t waste too many more years on holding onto your dream of him.  You know – that whole thing about not knowing what you want to do with your life is a big part of why you won’t let him go. He provided you direction and saved you from having to figure it out yourself or do anything about it. I know it’s so much easier to simply follow someone else but at the end of the day, it just creates a very unequal relationship – and hence a lot of anxiety in the one who’s doing the following. Honestly, spend any spare moment you get thinking about where you want to be in 5 years time – or for the ultimate shocker – try and envision your funeral and what you’d like people to be saying about you, what you would have done. Time goes by so fast and if you wait for life, it passes you by. Reach out and grab the life you want instead – I’m living proof 😉

@ Kkasxo – hope you are doing ok in this extra tough week for you. Take care eh.