My newest realization in life is that things really do happen for a reason.  Though many people claim to know this, do they really understand it? I think that we all use the phrase “everything happens for a reason” when it fits our situation or when we are trying to convince someone that everything will be ok, but I think real understanding of that phrase can only be achieved in retrospect.  Everything happens for a reason.  As I went through the mistakes that I’ve made, or at least the things that I felt were mistakes, and I realized that things actually turned out pretty ok despite them.  I mean we all make mistakes.  We all pick out the dressy outfit when we should have dressed casual, or we make the awkward joke at a solemn moment and risk offending someone because we were nervous.  Sometimes it’s bigger though. Sometimes we break up with a boyfriend for a while, and then realize that we actually want to be with them more than we need to be with them.  At times we break up with a friend over something that doesn’t matter, only to realize that friendship is rare, and that you don’t just throw away a good one.  The thing is, if these things were mistakes, than they wouldn’t turn out so well.  I realized that these “mistakes” are necessary to our growth as individuals.  Most of the time we don’t know what we need, or we feel like a situation is pointless.  What we actually need is some space in order to gain some clarity, and this space is often obtained by making a decision that is often called a mistake.  When you broke up with that boyfriend, you felt like things couldn’t work out, and even if they could you weren’t sure if you even wanted them to.  Making that decision to break up gave you room to think, and maybe it allowed you to realize what you actually wanted in a guy and what you deserved from a relationship.  Then, when you realize you want to be with your original boyfriend, you can take all that newly gained knowledge about yourself and apply it.  Perhaps momentarily losing that friend allowed you to realize that you have been used and that you don’t deserve it, while it allowed your friend to see that they aren’t perfect either, and that they really appreciate the friendship more than they thought.   No matter what the situation, we make decisions, whether we are aware of it or not, based on what we need at that moment.  Everything happens for a reason.