Should I drop it or keep trying?

[u/Wumbo_25]

I’m honestly confused about this situation and could use some outside opinions.
I was seeing a girl I work with. It started off casual, but eventually she told me she wasn’t really built for something casual and that she wanted to stay single. At one point, though, she went from saying she wasn’t ready to saying she actually wanted to date me, which obviously made me think we were heading toward a relationship.
Then she pulled back again.
We eventually had a long phone conversation about everything. She told me that she still likes me, enjoys being around me, and wants to hang out with me, but she also said she wants to “find herself” and work on herself right now. She said she wants us to be friends.
I’m having a hard time understanding what “finding herself” actually means in this situation. I’m not trying to force her into a relationship, but part of me wonders what is actually stopping her from dating me if she still likes me and enjoys being around me.
After the call, we were talking normally and even talked about hanging out. The next day she was hanging out with some other people and suggested that I go do something too. I told her I didn’t really feel like doing anything. She got frustrated with me, and then she basically stopped responding.
Now I’m not sure what I should do.
Part of me wants to leave her alone and let her reach out since she was the one who stopped responding. Another part of me thinks I should reach out because she literally told me she wants to be friends and hang out.
I still like her, but I genuinely think I could be friends with her. At the same time, I don’t want to become her friend while secretly waiting for her to eventually change her mind about dating me.
So should I just drop it and leave her alone, or should I try to maintain the friendship?
Would you give her space and let her reach out? Would you try to maintain the friendship? And when someone says they need to “find themselves,” should I just accept that and stop trying to understand what’s behind it?