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The Art of Breaking Up

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Virginia Tech chapter.

Text message. Letter. Email. Post-It note (I mean it happened to Carrie Bradshaw).

 Let’s face it, if you’ve chosen one of the above methods or any other questionable form of break-up plans you should be, well, ashamed of yourself. I can’t say that break-ups aren’t always messy, but when in doubt never choose the above methods. Not only will you devastate the dumpee, but you will taint your reputation. If you even have an admirable one in the first place.

 My friend, shall we call her Ella, recently, was dumped by her long-term boyfriend. Secretly, (not so much anymore) I can’t say I thought they were perfect together, but nonetheless they dated for a while. When he broke it off, it wasn’t the prettiest break-up I’ve ever witnessed. I know, I know, break-ups aren’t ideal, but we can only hope that our former significant other would have at least a smidge of respect left for us. Ella’s on the other hand, did not. He “played” her in a way that gave her a sense of hope for the relationship to pro-long in the future. Putting emphasis on the words, “you’re too good for me,” “I want you for the long haul,” “you’re the one I want to marry.” I mean get real. The guy was a smooth talker and he had her heart, literally rolling around in the palm of his hands; it was sickening. Gag me.

The guy had balls or no balls. Whichever take on it, you’d prefer. Let’s take this situation and learn from it, or at least analyze (what girls do best) what would be a “better” breakup plan. If you’re going to break it off with someone I suggest being 100% honest with your boyfriend/girlfriend, there’s nothing worse than feeling like the breakup was left open-ended when you deserve closure. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, realize what you’re doing and the hurt it could potentially cause and then think about the best way to go about the breakup and the right things to say. Be honest and respectful to yourself and your newfound “ex.” Brainstorm and write down why your relationship just isn’t working out and prepare before you make any moves.

If you do decide to break-it-off with your boyfriend don’t do it on a Post-It note, Carrie Bradshaw would not approve.

Megan is a sophomore at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. She is pursuing her B.A. in Communications with a concentration in Multimedia Journalism as well as a B.A. in Spanish Language. She is also pursuing a minor in Creative Writing. Megan updates her personal blog daily, and had a weekly blog as a Contributing Blogger for Her Campus Virginia Tech during her freshman year. As a dedicated member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Megan serves as the official blogger. Megan's interest in journalism began with her involvement with her high school's newspaper; where she served as an assistant section editor and a section editor her sophomore and junior years. She was the managing editor her senior year. In her free time, Megan enjoys running and competing in races, reading on her Kindle, and taking photos.