A girl is (sort of) leaving soon...

I think you may be sorry later on if you don't go ahead and ask her out! I'm a girl and if I knew the guy at all and liked him already, it wouldn't turn me off to see him get emotional once. In case you don't know this, a guy who is usually strong and whom a girl has always seen as strong gains validity with her if she sees him weak - a few times in his life. Relax about this - it won't ruin your image with her.

Most girls have a nurturing instinct and that actually makes them feel closer to you, more like you are human, although they still respect you since they know your usual strength. If she already knows you among a group of friends, she probably already knows you are usually strong and you might be losing nothing if your eyes accidentally tear up and she sees it....you might actually gain some closeness by that (especially if she finds out it has anything to do with the fact that you're upset she's leaving...she'll know she really matters to you!)

While it may be very stressful to talk to her and ask her out now, (I know -I've been there! Trust me!) regret will be worse!I I agree with Genesis 5 , below. Regret will hurt a lot longer, and will eat you up. When she's gone, its too late. I had a girl like this a long time ago, and never asked her out when I could. It's been over twenty years now, and I still wonder what ever happened to her. I've moved on, but once in a while I think "what if?"

So just absorb the pain now, and at least you can then say you have no regrets. Don't get too hung up on the crying......it's healthy. Don't suppress it......but you should try to determine what is really causing you to be so upset and stressed all the time. Good luck! Just think; she may be just be hoping you do make a move! Go for it!

I agree that only you can answer this question for yourself. But if I were you in the situation that you have presented I would jump all over the chance to ask her out and see where things would go from there.

Hmmm,.... good question.

Should I put myself in a position to be humbled and embarrassed to possibly get a great girl and start something great? Or, should I fill my life with a regret in order to bypass a POSSIBILITY of an embarrassment?

Only you can really answer this. But I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose,... just be careful with regret,.. it truly can eat away at you.

BTW, if you have been crying a lot, you may want to look at your life and the things that are going on to see what might be bothering you. There is nothing wrong with crying, but if you find that you are frequently over 'small' things, then that could be an indication of anxiety.