He shares that he is in a relationship, but he is still unable to commit to anything, and lets her leave to California. When Will tells his friend about his girl leaving and he has every intention of staying right in Southside for the next 20 years. His friend tells him, he owes it to him to get out, make something of himself. His friend supports change for Will.
When Shawn tells Will, his abuse was not his fault, Will breaks and cry’s, it seems for the first time. It is at this point Will is in the Preparation stage. He seems to accept himself more. Will has decided to make a change. He takes a real job, worthy of his Genius mind. He has decided to take action of his life.
He quickly moves on to the Action stage. He packs up his apartment, and drops a note off in Shawn’s mailbox. He tells Shawn he couldn’t take the job, and he had to go see about a girl. The movie ends with Will driving off to California.
I can only speculate about the Maintenance stage for Will. The fact that he left Southside was a good move to prevent relapse of falling back into his self-esteem, abandonment, and intimacy issues. We can only hope he commits to his girlfriend as he does his books. He has realized he is not perfect, and others do not have to be either. This is a good foundation for finding two people perfect for each