A few weeks ago, I became “that girl.”

Yes, I was the girl that was crying on the corner outside of a bar. We’ve all seen her. Some poor soul who clearly is having a less than great night, while also being intoxicated. Her friends are staring at her blankly and doing the best they can to get her to stop crying, but they’re pretty drunk too so they can’t do much.

I couldn’t tell you what I was crying about (that has nothing to do with the alcohol), but I do know I just really needed to cry in that very moment. I didn’t care if people stared at me, I didn’t care how stupid I looked or if people I know walked past. In fact, I’m pretty sure people I did know walked past and didn’t say a thing to me about it when I saw them later.

Reflecting on the incident later, I started to feel less and less embarrassed about it. Sure, no one really wants to be seen crying by a bunch of strangers, but sometimes, you have to just let your emotions go.

From my view, people, especially women, are somewhat hesitant to feel emotion or just do the things that will make them happier in the long run in order to assure that others are happy or comfortable. Of course, you should be aware that there is a time and place for everything but if you’re outside of a bar and need to cry, just do it. Who cares? No one. It doesn’t just apply to crying either. If you want to be angry, be angry! Yell, scream, hit something (preferably not a person.) If you keep those things in, they will inevitably negatively affect you in the long run.

When I was younger, I was always warned again being “that girl” and being emotional in public spaces. But once you let that fear go, it’s oddly freeing.

So, yeah. I’ve had a lot of “that girl” moments recently. I’ve been that girl who cries her eyes out outside of a bar, that girl who walks home without shoes, that girl who angrily confronts the guy that screwed over her friend, that girl who sings too loud or dances too much, that girl who is basically nothing short of a certified mess.

We all have our moments. Some great, some not so great. But that’s okay. Sometimes you have to be “that girl.” Who else would strangers tell stories about?

Adriona Murphy is the opinions editor. Contact her at [email protected].