Who Am I Without Empathy?

"Sometimes, I get tired of understanding people deeply. I had a day when I was just too tired to care about anyone... or maybe I get tired of caring for someone, and then when it comes to me, no one bats an eye."

I know, I know. You'll probably think that empathy is a free feeling that doesn't need a reward. Yes, that's why I don't like people who don't have it.

Normally, these kinds of people are the ones I’ve known. Of course, I know them—that’s why it’s disheartening to realise they’re apathetic. Not to be a hypocrite, but for me, this value feels like a basic courtesy people should have. I hate to think that the people who surround me, and whom I love, don’t have a care in the world.

I feel so deeply to the point that I cry most of the time, even over the smallest things. And then, the people I call friends laugh at me or mock me because I’m sensitive. It’s sad—because I feel sorry for them, I care for others, and yet they still think I’m “too sensitive.” But honestly, compared to people who don’t feel anything and end up hurting others, I’d rather be this way.

Sometimes, when people shame me for feeling deeply, for understanding too much, and for caring all the time, I remind myself: at least I can still feel. At least I can still notice when someone is sad, sick, or just having a bad day. At least I can help, even in the smallest ways.

And that realisation alone can make my whole day.

Because who am I without empathy? To me, I’d just be an empty can, a soulless body. I am most alive when I feel something—when I care, when I understand deeply.