I am no stranger to frustration. Throughout my time at Texas A&M, I have experienced myriad instances where I was righteously indignant at a situation, a choice, or an injustice. I have been cussed at by a professor. I have had my truck egged. I have dealt with drunk roommates repeatedly waking me up at 3 a.m. every morning. I have taken impossibly difficult exams. I have been cut off in traffic more times than I can count. I have had my wallet stolen. I have been told I don’t deserve to be an engineer because I’m a woman. I have been sexually harassed. I have had my stuff broken without reimbursement. I have been yelled at by people who don’t know I suffer from hearing loss. In short, the carelessness, indifference, and malice of others has impacted me in great and small measures throughout my time as a student of Texas A&M University.
 
There are times where it seems like the disregard and selfishness of others is enough to ruin my day. I get home, and I can forget how blessed I am to have my husband and two dogs, how lucky I am to be in such a prestigious graduate program, and how fortunate I am to have friends and family who are there for me. It is in these days of continual frustration that I must remind myself that a single moment of inconsideration does not define a person, and a single moment of frustration does not define my happiness.
 
I have friends who demonstrate this mindset when dealing with the aggravating drivers they come across. One friend says he imagines that speeders who weave through traffic are spouses rushing their laboring wives to the hospital to give birth. Another friend says she plays a game with her husband called, “Are They Old?” where they try to guess if a slow or haphazard driver is elderly. These are thought processes that force us to reexamine our dispositional attributions, the thought processes we apply to people we do not know who are in situations of which we are unaware.
 
How would the tone of our day-to-day lives change if we applied the same consideration we have for ourselves to the strangers around us? What if every rude person was having the worst day of their life? What if every air-headed mistake was the result of extreme stress? What if the strangers around us were more than the inconveniences they cause or the mistakes they make?
 
On the days I am diligent in applying this mentality to my thought process, I find my days less aggravating and less stressful. I start to see those around me not as obstacles to my happiness or annoyances in the way of my peace. They are like me, people with good and bad days, good and bad moments, simply trying to get through life with as few bumps and bruises as possible.
 
To clarify, my point is not that we should tolerate consistent abuse, but that we remember that anybody can make a mistake. The important thing is to not let the petty mistakes, selfishness, or disrespect of strangers impact our health, happiness, or peace of mind. None of us are strangers to frustration. But we all have the choice and the capability to not let those frustrations define our lives.
 
– Abigail Graves

Abigail is a master's student in the College of Engineering.