What Empathy Means to Me by Alyssa Raine
Alyssa Raineof Township of Washington's entry into Varsity Tutor's May 2018 scholarship contest
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What Empathy Means to Me by Alyssa Raine - May 2018 Scholarship Essay
To be empathetic is to be a kind, understanding, and patient person, which is an extremely hard thing to maintain in high stress situations, but it is the best way we can do to create a healthier space for the world. My parents taught me to “do to others what you would have them do to you,” therefore I take note of all the little things I appreciate others do for me and return the good karma to the world. Someone holding the door for me seems like such an insignificant thing but now, I try to hold the door for other people as much as possible because opening doors leads to new opportunities.
In the past years, I have volunteered to do tech for the Junior Performing Arts Club productions at the Westwood Regional Middle School. I am in charge of providing microphones for the actors, and before every show, we do mic checks in which we have the actors to speak lines or sing a song to test their microphones before they go on stage. I always make sure to address the actors by their first names and say thank you after their check as a means of being considerate to them. I know that they have continually worked long hours for the show to come into fruition and this is just a very small thing to do for them.
On one of the last days of production, one actor who I had made friends with wrote me a thank-you poem, as a means of helping the production run smoothly, and being kind and welcoming to her. I realized that despite being a very small part of a big production, I have helped so many young kids who are just as passionate about theater as I am; not only that but I have touched at least one person’s heart with my generosity. It warms my heart to think that the good will I have passed to them will inspire them to continue the chain.
Suffice to say, I will take this bit of humanity with me onto college and the rest of my life. Empathy starts with very small things. The more you do for the others, the more lives you end up touching.
