An open letter for all my favorites characters from One day at a time
If you are wondering if there are spoilers in this text — Yes, there are. But, in my opinion, these spoilers won’t impact your experience of watching One day at a time for the first time or rewatching it. Anyway, if you decide to read it, it’s at your own risk.
Now, let me share a peculiar detail about myself: I really hate sitcoms with “artificial” laugh sounds in the background. If you need to tell your audience that is time to laugh, guy…maybe your joke and sense of humor are horrible. And yes, One day at a time is full of these artificial laughs and I still love this show.
Of course, another important detail is the moment I watched it — it has not been the most normal moment of my life: the year is 2020, my first time living out of my parents’ house and 6 thousand miles far away from home. In the middle of a global health crisis, of course. That’s the year, folks!
One day at a time’s plot made me laugh and cry in all episodes from the first to the third season. No exceptions. It is that kind of show that you need some time after ending all seasons… I was devastated by not having any more episodes. And, believe me, there are really few shows on that list.
Today, I’d like to share with you not only a list regarding everything that I have learned with this show. It is an open letter for some special characters — my own way to thank all of them and what they’ve taught me about life:
Schneider:
I really thank you for proving to me that there are people who deserve a second, third, and how many chances they need — at least, while there is truth in their attitudes.
Also, you showed me that everyone has a past. But, what is really important is what we choose to do with our present.
Man, you taught me that a good friend appears in our lives in unexpected ways. And, in order to be a good friend, we need to donate our shoulders, attention, and heart when our lovely friends need — without judgments.
You remembered me that family is not all about genetics. We can build other relationships along with life and, thank God, some of them will grow so strong that they turn into our real family.
The best thing ever that I’ve learned from you can be summarized in one sentence: “don’t quit before the miracle happens”.
Thanks, buddy. I promise you: I’ll keep trying until the miracle happens.
Lydia:
Oh, no way! Seriously, you are the best personification about everything good that a grandmother could be.
The most important thing you have taught me is that we can’t deny our real essence — it doesn’t matter what the others say about it. We should be proud of what we really are.
With you, Lydia, I’ve learned that there are a lot of ways to defend and protect who we love and our family. And, I saw that you learned that sometimes, for most pure and good-intentioned that our actions are, they don’t work. We can’t fix everything. We’ve learned together that the most lovely thing we can do is to support our beloved ones — even when it goes against our beliefs or expectations.
Also, you made me want to prepare Cuban coffee every morning listening to “Azucar Negra” loudly. I wanna learn how to dance salsa and live a love so intense as yours and Berto’s too.
Regarding love, you showed me how struggling is to overcome someone’s loss. And it’s okay, we are all humans. Still, when we have questions in our own mind about our capacity to love again, you’ve shown me the importance of being honest with who offers us their love.
You always tried to improve, in your own terms. But, you started and finished the show as a perfect human being: full of faults, prejudices, and with completely wrong ideas about the world. Anyway, you made me fall in love with you. And I understood that people do not need to be perfect to be loved.
Thank you, Lydia. I loved you so much that I still wish I could be your granddaughter for one single day.
Victor:
First of all, let’s keep things clear: I do not like you. If there is someone who broke my heart in this show — it’s you. More than once.
But, you remembered me of an important point and it’s why you’re on this list: sometimes, toxic people can be part of our blood family.
You are one of the best examples that genetics is not everything. Being part of a family requires much more: supportiveness, loveness, partnership, and the list goes on. So, I thank you for making it really clear.
Elena:
Girl, you are the teenager I would love having been. You are the human being that I wanna be when I grow up.
Thanks for remembering me that nobody is good at everything or all the time. You’ve shown us that intelligence is 99% hard work and 1% a gift. Also, you illustrated the best and the worst of all kinds of relationships: with your parents, family, and romantic ones.
We’ve learned together there is a kind of people that can’t work with what they love — because they’ll start hating it. And it’s okay, come on! All of us are really more than our job roles.
But, the most important things I’ve learned from you are: to never tolerate injustice and never give up to help people around us get better.
Thank you, Elena. You’re the essence of girl power.
Alex:
First of all, you’re really an annoying brother. But you’re also a protective one. There are a few episodes that made me think something such as “maybe I like him”. But, there is a special one and that’s why I should thank you: you’ve shown me that the bravest thing we can do for a friend is to ask for help, even when they don’t think they need it. Especially, when they think so.
Dr. Leslie:
If someone told me I’d learn something with you in the first episode…Well, to be honest, I would say they are crazy.
But, along with the seasons, you shared a precious lesson: it’s not because someone doesn’t love us as we desire, that it means they don’t love us in the best way they can.
Keeping it in mind, we need to appraise if this love offered is enough for making us happy. If so, that’s great. You’ve taught all of us that a true relationship is based on actions, not labels.
No, Leslie. You will not be the “Berto” to anyone else. But, you will still be a beloved person to have around.
And, there is an extra lesson from you: sometimes, expressing our real admiration and sharing gentle words are the most beautiful gifts we can give to somebody — and often it is exactly what they need and we do not know.
Penélope:
You’re my favorite character ever. A mother with a lot of faults and love — so real as a human being, parent, and woman as you could be.
You’ve taught me to face all my fears — especially the worst ones. You’ve shown that it is not an easy task, but it is possible with braveness and consistency.
When you started studying again, it was amazing! In this part, I remembered it is never too late to turn dreams into reality.
There are some episodes in which you made me cry, especially when nothing works and you think of giving up. In those moments, you just took a break and started it again. It was amazing, you taught us that when someone is tired, they need to rest, not give up. I really thank you for always keep trying.
Also, you’ve taught us that we need to say hard words to show our friends’ mistakes. But we also must support their fights against their fears. We should not give up on them.
With you, I’ve learned a lot of things. Really. And I believe the most beautiful lesson is to understand that life is not easy, not even fair, but it’s okay — life is worth it and it’s beautiful as it is.
And everyone can turn life into something better, one day at a time.
