Netflix’s ‘Someone Great’ Delivered The Best Piece Of Breakup Advice You’ll Ever Read

I’ll admit it– I’m a sucker for a cheesy rom com.

So when Netflix suggested I watch Someone Great starring Gina Rodriguez, you KNOW I clicked. And watched. And laughed. And cried. And through that rollercoaster of emotions, it was one scene in particular that struck me.

Jenny, who is played by Rodriguez, is sitting on the F train, tears streaming down her face. As the train maneuvers its way along New York City’s underbelly, Jenny takes out her journal and pens a letter to her ex, Nate (played by Lakeith Stanfield). After nine years with Nate, she has just 226 words for him.

And they are perfect.

As a writer who has penned many a tear-soaked epistle and journal entry, Jenny’s poignant letter – though, again, admittedly cheesy – had a great message. And, as someone going through breakup #1 at the ripe age of 27, I immediately felt the need to transcribe it. To remember it. To hold on to all 226 of these incredible words that managed to capture everything I’ve been feeling for the past 12 months.

Here are Jenny’s words, in as poetic a fashion as I could muster:

“Do you think I can have one more kiss?

I’ll find closure on your lips and then I’ll go.

Maybe, also, one more breakfast, one more lunch, and one more dinner.

I’ll be full and happy and we can part.

But, in between meals, maybe we can lie in bed one more time?

One more prolonged moment where time suspends indefinitely as I rest my head on your chest.

MY hope is if we add up the one more’s, they will equal a lifetime.

And I’ll never have to get to the part where I let you go.

But that’s not real, is it?

There are no more ‘one mores.’

I met you when everything was new and exciting,

and the possibilities of the world seemed

endless.

And they still are.

For you.

For me.

But not for us.

Somewhere between then and now, here and there–

I guess we didn’t just grow apart…

…we grew UP.

When something b r e a k s,

if the pieces are large enough,

you can fix it.

Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t break.

They

s

h

a

t

t

e

r.

But when you let the light in, shattered glass will glitter.

And in those moments – when the pieces of what we were catch the sun – I’ll remember just how beautiful it was.

Just how beautiful it will always be.

Because it was us.

And we were magic.

Forever.”

Oof. Breaking up is hard to do.

But what I love about Someone Great is that the happy ending wasn’t found in the reconciliation of a relationship. Nor was it found with the beginning of a new romance. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, I don’t need him, I’ve got [insert newer, handsomer guy]!’

It was Jenny’s heart-wrenching, tear-soaked letter that reassures all of us that even shattered glass can bring LIGHT. This glittering, shimmering, shiny light that can make YOU feel happy and joyful and alive.

It’s so easy to want the ‘one mores’ after a relationship dies. The idea that one more hug, kiss, cuddle, or adventure to the flea market will allow you to get it – whatever it may be – out of your system. Then you’ll feel better, right?

But what I’ve learned, and what Jenny’s letter reinforces, is that certain happy times lay in the past for a reason. Those sharp, shattered pieces of a relationship can hurt you if you keep messing with them. They’re not always meant to be put back together. And that’s okay. If you let those pieces go, you’ll finally see the sparkling reflection of the sun.

It’s refreshing to see a woman who chooses herself at the end of a romcom while also acknowledging that it’s not always an easy choice. In fact, in the movie’s last scene, Jenny tells her friends how sad she is: “I’m sad. I’m just so sad. But it’s like a good sad, you know? We loved each other. We love each other. I mean, ‘cause that shit doesn’t go away, right?”

Breakups can be sad, messy, and hilariously tragic. Someone Great reminds us that relationships may end simply because they’ve run their course. Circumstances change. People change. We’re forced to make decisions that lead us in opposite directions. But the important thing is to remember your own greatness and know that it is not something to be chased in the form of somebody else.

You are enough. And you are someone great.