Who I Am Now

What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

When I was ten years old, my sister, Alexia, was born and it changed the entire dynamic of my family. The day before, my family was composed of me, my brother, and my parents. Now, we had a new sister, her mom, and her mom’s other daughter living with us. I perfectly understood the complications about my family’s living situation and I was not quick to let anyone know that I had a new sister. I was ashamed of the fact that my family was not perfect and I kept my barriers shut, now more than ever.

As time past, I didn’t make an effort to try to love this child as if she were my sister. A year came by and another half sister arrived. The feelings of my second sister mirrored those of the first. It was difficult to see them as more than just a mistake. However, I realized that it was not their fault that they came into this family. When they started walking, talking, and copying my phrases and facial expressions, I fell in love with the idea of being someone for them to look up to and realized that when they would grow up, they would be just as confused as I was.

This birthed the most empathetic bone in my body that I consider to be my greatest talent. It’s something that sparked the need to understand others and be open-minded as well as accepting of those around me. As life continued, my ability to empathize has grown and became the most important factor in being true to myself and others. I have continued to develop this by ways as including those who feel alone as well as having an energy that delivers the feeling of no judgement. To me, humans have failed to progress in life without empathy and a very critical point where it is lost is during teenage years. This is why it is incredibly important to me to continue to spread this idea to those who surround me and hope that it influences them to do the same.