I remember when my Expository Writing teacher began explaining to my class the difference between sympathy and empathy. Until that moment, I had never considered the difference, and as a result, I was lacking in the empathy department. Yet, even before that lecture, I had begun to realize that empathizing with people in need is an important part of humanity. The books I had been reading were influencing my ideologies and my perception of the world. In Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451, Montag stated “We need not to be left alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” An uneducated, unaware America is the most dangerous America that could exist, and I had fallen prey to it. Repeatedly authors like Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, and, more recently, Veronica Roth have warned us of the dangers of becoming indifferent. Yet, I allow myself to become indifferent. Why should I concern ourselves with someone else’s problem? As cliché as it may sound, the real world has real problems and the problems will not go away unless people, like me, to …show more content…
In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he discussed the importance of being a voice to those who do not have a voice and to be empathetic to others in need, as there are so many still in need. UNICEF estimates that there are 153 million orphans worldwide. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 5.5 million children in child slavery, many of whom are in western countries like the United States. I remember the first time I learned that children and teenagers were being sold into slavery, in my own town nonetheless; I felt powerless. Perhaps right now as a teenager there is nothing I can do directly, but I can raise awareness. I look forward to the day that I can physically help people in