The phone rings and all I can hear is a quivering voice say, “she’s dead”. My heart drops into my stomach, my mind is racing, and tears immediately start welling in my eyes.
I have yet to decide whether being empathetic is a positive or negative quality to possess. I automatically empathize with those around me and have made it my responsibility to help everyone cope with their problems. Whenever my friends come to me with a problem I take on their pain as my own and put all of my energy towards helping them. I enjoy being able to help and take care of people, and find it rewarding when I know I have made a positive impact. My friends problems range from a death in the family, to struggles with an eating disorder, and to series of fights with their parents. No matter how small or large their problem, I consider it my responsibility to be there for them.
When my friends mom was given weeks to live I dedicated all of my time to helping her. Every morning I would wake up, check in with my friend, and then plan my day accordingly. Sometimes I would have to leave school to come and help her because there was too much for her to deal with at the moment. Other times I would spend hours listening to her vent about the situation or sit with her at home while the hospice nurse was caring for her mother. I did all of this not because she asked, to be honest she never asked me for anything; I did everything because I cared about her so much as a friend and was doing what I would want a friend to do for me. My life revolved around her; her situation was constantly on my mind and I could not be happy because I was just waiting to get that phone call announcing her mom’s death.
Helping those around me has become a mechanism for me to ignore everything that is going on in my life. Dealing with other people’s problems has become easier than dealing with my own because resolving theirs almost justifies ignoring mine. Growing up neither of my parents were ever home, therefore I was raised by my grandmother. However, when my brother was born I viewed him as my own child and felt that it was my responsibility to always care for him and shield him from any negative situations that he might encounter. My involvement in his upbringing and my parents’ absence in my life have made me nurturing, caring, and empathetic.
Making other people happy is my happiness, therefore I want dedicate the rest of my life towards helping people by becoming a doctor in the future. My life and choices revolve around the people that surround me.
Why do you do what you do? Because I care too much about people.
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