Empathy v. Sympathy

              The discussion that we had on empathy v. sympathy, even if it wasn’t very much, definitely helped me better distinguish between the two.  Sympathy has to do with recognizing that someone else is suffering.  It's noticing that pain and feeling compassion towards the other person.  Empathy, however, is suffering alongside with the person.  You do not just recognize the pain but you are living through it.  As we determined the difference between the two we briefly read a poem called “Alzheimers” by Kelly Cherry.  After reading this poem I felt empathetic towards the speaker.  My late grandfather had suffered with dementia for a very long time.  One time when we came to a dance performance of mine as he was watching he said, “Who’s that tall girl? I like her.” It’s sad when the ones you love don’t even recognize you.  At the end of the poem when it says “Thing he must do, now that he is home, is decide who this woman is….standing here in his doorway, welcoming him in.” I really connected with the speaker.  I wasn’t very close with my grandpa but it was scary hearing my parents often talk of how easily he got confused as to who people were and where he was.