An Empathetic Summer
“Did you get it?”, my friend asked me. “No. Did you?” He did. He got the internship. It seemed like everyone was getting jobs except for me. It was the summer of 2015, and I was in eager search for something to do for the next two months. I applied for an internship at an auto shop where I would gain hands on experience fixing cars.
“Why don’t you volunteer as a leader for some summer camp”, my friend sneered. The thought of working with sloppy, bratty, slobbering kids disgusted me‚Äîbut there was only a week left before summer. Instead of working with my friends, I committed my entire summer taking care of children. Looking back now, this experience turned out to be my most important lessons of empathy in my life.
The scream of children rang my ears as I nervously stepped into the building. All across the playground, kids were littered, laughing, crying, playing. So far all of my expectations had been confirmed. “This is gonna be a long summer”, I thought.
“What grade are YOU in?”, came a third grade boy, taking me by surprise. Stammering, I tried to introduce myself. My tongue twisted, and I squeaked back. Jeeringly, the third grade boy walked away. As my first encounter with a kid, it made me look forward to the end of summer ever the more.
Reassuringly, I told myself; I was going to be a high school senior, while these children were still learning their times-tables. I carefully planned how I was going to introduce myself, and ran the scenario in my head repeatedly. Feeling more confident, I approached a group of kids and cheerfully introduced myself. When I finished, the kids looked at each other confused and walked away from me. I had embarrassed myself, and sat down on a bench, hiding from other kids. Even though it was only the first day, I contemplated quitting.
Playing on the other side of the playground was a little fourth grade girl. She noticed me and ran up to me with the confidence I lacked. She introduced herself, smiling. Dela, the little fourth grade girl, understood my struggle to get to know the children. She explained that she had troubles making friends with other children and related with me. From a little fourth grader that didn’t even know me, I received valuable compassion and empathy. For the summer of 2015, she became my inspiration and motivation to continue volunteering.
As the weeks flew by, I evolved as a leader. Every morning, I woke up feeling excited for another bright new day at the summer camp. When I walked through the doors, the children greeted me hugs, eager to play with me. I genuinely enjoyed volunteering and educating the children. Dela was also improving; she made many new friends, with whom she shared secrets and played.
During one such days, Dela’ behavior was different. The little fourth grader, who was usually so lively, so energetic, was suddenly depressed and sat alone on the bench.
“What’ wrong?”, I asked. She turned away, trying to avoid my eyes. I sat down with her, and assured that while I sat, I was her friend, and not her camp leader. She explained that her parents argued a lot and often they would expend their bottled anger on her. As her friend, I provided emotional support and repaid my compassion. I showed her that people cared about her, including her friends and family. As her leader, I wanted to confront her parents, but Dela made me promise otherwise. When her parents came to pick her up that day, I told them that they had a wonderful daughter. Although they held a confused expression, it quickly softened and glistened when Dela, the little fourth grader, ran up to their open arms.
As the summer ended, school resumed. During one evening after, as I checked my emails, an unopened, seven-week old acceptance letter read: CLTE AUTO SHOP. Although I felt a short lived anger, I felt no regret. I looked back on my seven week journey—if I had not volunteered at the summer camp, I would not have had the opportunity to gain the invaluable experience as a youth leader. Through the program, I developed a deeper understanding of compassion and empathy. From Dela, I now have a more open mind and am willing to offer support to friends and people in our community. I will walk a mile in your shoes. Just like the little fourth grader did for me.