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At 17, I realized that my next door neighbor, an elderly woman, must feel lonely not having family around her since she lives alone. Because of this, I started going over to her place whenever I have the chance so that I can sit and talk to her. She often shows me her art projects since she is very creative, and even gives some to me as a gift. I enjoy listening to her tell stories about her younger days, and she even gives me life advice. I love seeing the joy in her eyes when I come over and just listen and talk to her because I know that at that moment she does not feel lonely.

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When I was 16, I volunteered at the hospital. One of my duties was interacting with the patients. One patient in particular did not receive many visitors, and I placed myself in his shoes and felt bad that he was alone in the hospital. I was hesitant to go over and strike up a conversation with the elderly man because I was not sure if he wanted to be left alone or not. One day I was delivering his food and decided to stick around a while longer since I was not needed by one of the nurses yet. I tried to start a conversation with him, and to my surprise he kept it going. I ended up sitting there and talking and listening to him for about an hour before I needed to do something else.

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When I was 15, I found that my friend was diagnosed with a mental disorder: anxiety. She started going to therapy to help cope with her anxiety. This situation was more challenging because it opened a new world to me. I was not very what the proper way to act was. However, I soon realized that my friend needed reassurances, no matter how small. I often gently encouraged her, meditated with her, and was opened to listening to her. I made sure she always felt welcomed and shared her sorrows. Whenever she achieved something such as facing her fears, I celebrated with her.

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When I was 14, my friend’s parents went through a nasty divorce. She was devastated at the news, and I did my best at consoling her. I put myself in her shoes and tried to see the situation through her eyes and tried relating to her. There wasn’t much I could do about her situation since I could not stop her parents from divorcing. However, I remained by her side and was there to listen to her without judgment.

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When I was 14, one of my best friends went through a bad breakup with her ex-boyfriend. Despite not having prior knowledge to how a breakup felt, I supported her by listening to her story and comforted her by hugging her. She started to have self-doubts, and I made sure that she understood how amazing she was and that it was not her fault the breakup happened. I encouraged her to talk things out with her ex-boyfriend so that she could get closure and move on. She did so, and now she has no regrets or harbors bad feelings.

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When I was 12, one of my relatives was in hospice because of kidney cancer. My family and I drove to Las Vegas in order to be there for the daughter and husband of my great-aunt. When we got there, they were devastated that the life of someone they cared about was running out so quickly. I realized then that the main way we were able to support them was by embracing them in a hug that said a lot more than words ever could. It was a quiet day as we watched my great-aunt pass. We then invited the family to have dinner to take their minds off things temporarily and to assure them that we would be there to support and comfort them in any way we could.

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When I was 9, my grandfather died because of serious health complications. During this time, I gained a deeper understanding of how it felt to lose someone you were really close to and cared about. Through this experience, I was able develop my empathetic skills because I found out how it felt to be on the other side, where you were the one talking and had someone listening to you. From that moment, I knew what to do when someone else went through the same experience as me.

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When I was 9, I met one of my greatest friends. She was a close family friend and we shared an instant bond. At that time, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and although she tried to be strong, I knew she just needed someone to listen to her. So, that was exactly what I did. I supported her by listening to how she felt and imagining how I would feel if I was in her shoes. I was her shoulder to cry on and I always did the best I could in comforting her.

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I remember when I was in first and second grade, whenever someone was physically hurt from playing at recess or sad because no one wanted to play with them or someone was mean to them, I would always sit and stay with them so that they would not feel lonely. Rather than going off and playing and ignoring them, I always made it my mission to keep them company when they were on their way to the nurse’s office or felt sad because they had no one to play with and I would listen to them. I would place myself in their shoes and I knew that if I were in that position, I would want someone to do the same to me.

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My parents have always told me that when I was born, I was quiet and well-behaved. I guess this is when the start of my empathetic attitude started. I would always listen to my parents, and ever since then I have always been a good listener. This quality is important because in order to be empathetic, you have to be able to open your mind and just listen to what the other person is saying.