Empathy in My Life - Essay Example

They used to tell us that the world had changed adversely as many people were so engaged in their hobbies and careers that they forgot to practice the virtues that mattered most. They connected every social evil and wrongful conduct to greed, which they said was caused by the fact that people no longer understood or entered into other people’s feelings. They said that the world would be peaceful if everyone took the time to evaluate their activities and the implications that they had on other individuals’ feelings.

I concurred with my parents’ teachings but always felt that it was unfair to treat bad people nicely for they did not deserve it. Whenever my parents talked about love, compassion, and empathy, I used to picture Thomas, a student who was one class ahead of me and was unpopular for bullying other students. I remembered how he constantly shoved me whenever we met along the corridors of elementary school. I remembered with great pain when Thomas took my brand-new headphones and threatened to beat me if I told him.

I never imagined that I could have treated Thomas nicely after all the bad things that he had done to me. I never thought that I could empathize with Thomas if he landed in trouble or had a misfortune. However, everything changed after an unanticipated series of events occurred. One day at school, I realized that Thomas was not in his rowdy and energy-filled mood. I was happy because he did not shout or push me and school seemed pleasant for the first time. However, Thomas returned to his old ways a few days later.

I wondered what had happened to him on that day when he was unusually calm. The following weekend my mother decided to take us with her as she was taking some old clothes and other items to the local community center that harbored homeless people. I suddenly saw Thomas in the community center seated sadly next to an elderly lady.