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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Berkeley chapter.

Dear dancing_little_cloud, 

Whenever someone breaks up or gets turned down by a partner/love interest, the one question that people keep going back to is “What went wrong?” Thousands of reasons can lead to a loss of connection between two people, yet one identical result is always produced.

I remember the day I received your message and how I called my best friend crying into the phone at 2 a.m., wishing I could control the power of the universe and make you take back every word you said. It was not necessarily “getting dumped” that made me sad but the emptiness of having someone so important removed from your life. In other words, I was more puzzled than angry. For a long time, I was really cynical and I focused so much on figuring out “what went wrong.” Until one day, I thought back to our conversation:

Maybe it’s written in the stars. 

What’s written in the stars? 

The way people meet. Don’t you think that where and when we appear in front of someone is all written in the stars? As much as we want to control it, every person and every story is basically set and waiting for us. 

And you were right. Just as how we were meant to meet, we were meant to part, too. 

In the end, we’ll never know what could have been or what the future held for us. But I just want to say—and I really mean this—thank you. I heard from a friend’s therapist that no matter how harsh and sudden people part ways, just know that the magic that first got them together was, and will always remain real. It was the sparks in the spur of the moment that pulled us in, and perhaps it was just another realization in the spur of the moment that broke us apart.

I’m glad that we met, that we laughed at ridiculous internet obsessions together, that we leaned in at the same time, and that we kissed under the clear sky carpeted with stars that one spring night. Every once in a while, I’ll look up to the stars and smile at how the constellations’ beauty stays unchanged for eternity. And I’ll smile for our memory too. 

I hope you’re okay, and Happy Valentine’s Day. 

Sincerely,

Sunshine

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Emily Lin

UC Berkeley '25

Emily Lin is a third-year at UC Berkeley studying Political Science and Business Administration. In her free time, she enjoys watching old movies and trying new recipe. Emily is also a passionate advocate for women's rights, a Taiwanese-American, and an infp Sagittarius.