RELATIONSHIPS

What I’d Say to My Future Partner, if I Knew Who He Was

Sending my undeliverable love letter

Janna Barrett
BELOVED
Published in
14 min readFeb 6, 2023

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Hand lettering by Janna Barrett

I am not a hopeless romantic. I don’t subscribe to the notions of fate or destiny; I believe in preparedness and recognizing opportunity. So when it comes to partnership, I don’t believe there’s one person out there, designed just for me.

That said, I am still very much “a romantic.” I’m just a realistic one.

I believe in varying levels of compatibility across multiple realms — intellectual, emotional, physical; values, aspirations, lifestyle, etc. There’s definitely an elusive sweet spot in the romantic Venn diagram, but anyone with a considerable degree of overlap is a good match.

Finding someone with whom most, or all, the components overlap, though? That’s what I’d call a great match.

It seems akin to finding a needle in a haystack—but that’s part of what makes it so special. I’m fortunate in having found it before. I will find it again someday.

My certainty of this relationship should not be conflated with credulity. It’s an eventuality. As long as I keep dating, I’ll find someone I’m both attracted to and deeply compatible with—and who feels the same way about me. Someday, we’ll mutually agree that we don’t…

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Janna Barrett
BELOVED

Hi! I'm an Artist and Flight Attendant based in DC. I write and draw about my experiences as a travel professional. Follow for adventure and emotion!