INPUT ARTICLE: Article: While it's possible to be friends with someone you used to date, you need time to recover from the break-up before that's possible. Friendships between exes are often less satisfactory, in the long run, than friendships between people who never dated. Mark a date on a calendar to solidify for yourself how long it really is. If you had a reasonably healthy relationship, you might be able to say to your ex: "I hope that we can interact as friends in the future. But for now, I need a certain amount of time to work on my own healing. That means I won't accept your calls or talk to you until this date at the soonest." You need to develop a new sense of yourself that is not based in your old relationship. Rather than focusing on her, focus on your friends and your family relationships, your studies, your work, and your hobbies. Now is a good time to reach out to that friend you really like that you haven't seen for a while. Consider taking up a new hobby, so that you meet new people and build confidence in a new context. Staying connected on social media may hold you back from healing and moving on after the end of a romantic relationship. Your focus should be on personal growth, not pictures of her night out or status updates about her new partner or how lonely she is. Unfriend your ex on Facebook. In addition, there are apps and plug-ins that can block your ex's updates from appearing in your feed and remove any posts that mention him. Unfollow your ex on Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. Use a "block your ex" plug-in to remove references to your ex from your internet browser altogether. These can be helpful if you just can't resist searching her name from time to time. The drama of infatuation and romantic relationships can mimic addiction. Recognize that your fantasies are shaped by the best aspects of the relationship and are not an accurate depiction of what it was really like to be with him. Personal growth often results from a break-up. Writing a short, personal essay that focuses on the positive effects of the break-up helps to increase positive emotions like gratitude, hopefulness, relief, and satisfaction. If you find yourself unable to get over your ex, or overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, despair, or fear, you should talk to a therapist. A counselor will also be able to help you develop strategies for any interactions you need to have with your ex. Take time to find the right therapist for you. You might need to talk to a few different people or get recommendations from several different sources, including your school and your doctor's office. It's worth it to find someone you feel comfortable with. Increased substance abuse often occurs when someone is experiencing a break-up. But relying on alcohol or drugs will only cause new problems for you. While your friends might advise you to get over a relationship quickly by finding someone new, you're better off taking time to understand what went wrong first. Talk to a counselor or trusted, mature friend about the relationship and how it ended.

SUMMARY: Commit to making a clean break. Remember that not contacting your ex is about moving on, not re-starting the relationship. Avoid your ex on social media. Don't fantasize about your ex. Write a journal entry about the positive aspects of the relationship and of ending it. Talk to a counselor or therapist. Stay away from drugs and alcohol. Take your time to figure out what happened.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Collect approximately 100mL (.44 cups) of hot water. The water doesn't need to be boiling. Tap water will work fine. Just leave the tap on for a minute until the water is very hot. To get the purest crystals, begin with a hot solution and allow it to cool slowly by leaving it at room temperature. This slow process will allow the crystal to reject any impurities as the molecules are arranged. The solution will be saturated when it can no longer dissolve more crystals. You will probably need about 60 grams (2.1oz.) of chemical. Add more until the crystal no longer dissolve. There are a number of chemicals you can select depending on the color of crystal you want to make. Some of the chemicals, like borax, may be around your house or at the local grocery store. Other ingredients are available to order online. Borax can be used to produce clear crystals. Copper sulfate can be used to create bright blue crystals. Purple chrome alum can be used to create purple crystals. Pouring the solution through a filter will help to get rid of any excess crystals that could not be dissolved in the solution. Take a plastic funnel and place a coffee filter in the funnel. Then pour the solution into a separate container through the funnel. Now you should have a clear solution with no crystals floating around in the liquid. Leave it for 24 hours. Once you have some small crystals scrape them off the plate with a butter knife. You can use these small crystals as seeds to produce larger crystals. You can poke two small holes in the lid and tie one end around the seed crystal and tie the other end to the top of the jar. The container should be clean so the crystals attach to your seed crystal and not the container. Pick any container that has a good cover that seals. Or make a cover by suspending your crystal from a flat piece of cardboard. Evaporation will help speed up the formation of crystals. Wait as the solution evaporates and your crystal grows larger. Be patient. It can take weeks to grow a large crystal. Keep the object in a cool, shaded area. Make sure it is someplace where the container won't be moved or disturbed too often. Over time, small crystals will begin to form in the solution, so it will be necessary to put your seed crystals into a new container. Remove the seed crystals and place them on a paper towel. Pour the solution through a coffee filter into the new container. Scrape out any crystals in the old container. You can save them and use them as seed crystals for the next time you want to grow a crystal. If you need more solution, dissolve some more crystal powder in hot water and add the solution to your new container. To protect the crystal from being destroyed by exposure to moisture, cover the crystal with a coat of lacquer. Use a brush to apply an even coat over the entire surface. You can also try coating the surface with a layer of nail polish to protect it.

SUMMARY:
Collect some hot water in a jar. Dissolve a crystal chemical in hot water until the solution is saturated. Filter the solution. Place a small amount of the saturated solution on a plate. Suspend the seed crystal in a clean jar. Pour the saturated solution into the container with crystal seed. Refresh the solution every two weeks. Coat the surface of the crystal with a lacquer.