thanks kimmydawn!

You made a very good point about his depression. And because I know he has issues, I can respect he needs time to work on them. I believe there were two main reasons he broke it off -
1) He needed time to work on his issues, and having a relationship is tough. Much of the things he wants to work on is feeling like he belonged somewhere besides with me. He wanted a group of friends. Having a sig. other is difficult when you're trying to make friends. Who do you put first??
2) He felt pressured by our relationship to settle down and know what he wants in his life, and he doesn't. Which is ok. He hasn't really had a healthy basis to understand or know what he wants.

Knowing that he has issues makes this easier for me to deal with. I respect that he was able to give up all that was comfortable to him in order to work on himself. That is great! But it also sucks I'm left in the dust.

I have conflicting sides of me: the emotional and rational parts - the part that hurts, and the part that understands.

I appreciate your post. I was seeking something like this out in order to gain support and the ability to talk about my feelings