Last semester, as we sat for our first exam, a classmate who had been experiencing episodes of depression couldn’t sit for his papers. We had prayed and hoped for his return. He didn’t make it back. Focused on this sad moment, we forgot about another student who was missing. I vividly remember the cloud of sadness that descended upon the exam room when we eventually noticed. How could we not have seen this earlier? We had forgotten about someone struggling just as much. This student, burdened with a considerable debt and having collected some money, had lost hope and switched his phone off. He was later found in his hostel, simply sleeping through the exam period, possibly praying, hurting, or trying to self-soothe. These are but some of the numerous hard times we find ourselves going through.
