To the girl I saw crying on the bus,

A week ago I was taking the bus home after a long day of classes. I was reading and listening to music, so naturally, I was in my own little world until I overhead your sniffling from my headphones. You tried to hide your tears, and everyone around tried to avert their eyes, but your pain kept drawing attention towards you.

To the girl I saw crying on the bus, I understand your pain. There has been many a time during my collegiate career where the stress of classes, exams, extracurricular involvement, and personal issues have become too much and lead to tears and sadness.

I have been there myself, and so that is why I say to you: do not feel ashamed of your tears. Do not hide your sadness. Work through what you are feeling, and try again tomorrow.

The sad thing about this is that it is not unfamiliar to see a person crying on campus. What does this say about the stress of the college environment?

While it is true that as college students at a top university we hold ourselves to high standards, but there is a tremendous amount of pressure placed on us.

From the second I stepped on campus my freshman year, there has been this idea of more is better. The more clubs, the more classes, the more research opportunities, the more whatever you involve yourself with and the better your chances of finding post-graduation success.

I love how easy it is to become involved at Texas A&M, and I love all the opportunities of going to a large university, but that does not neglect the fact that all of these activities create a perfect storm for a stressed and overworked student body.

To the girl I saw crying on the bus, I want you to know that it is okay to feel what you feel. Maybe you didn’t do as well on an exam as you may have hoped or maybe you miss your family.

Perhaps your tears were a result of a stressful day of a bunch of little annoyances that simply became too overwhelming. Regardless, we have all been there, and there is no shame in taking a step back and saying, “Hey, I work hard and play hard, but sometimes all of this becomes a little much and I need to cry.”

With anxiety and depression on the rise, it is completely understandable to cry it out once in a while. There is no shame in that whatsoever.

To the girl I saw crying on the bus, I hope things become better for you. I used to be you. My freshman year at A&M was one of the most difficult and lonely school years of my life.

I did not excel in my classes, and I missed my family all the time. Slowly, but surely, things got better. It is a cliché, but things do get better.