Without recognizing the value of empathy, I struggled to sacrifice my self-interest which led to me facing difficulty in finding the people that fill my loneliness and who accept me. Grades were important to me, through much of my schooling life I focused on grade prioritizing it over anything and everything else. I put these self-interests above everything else in my life. So, when I was in middle school I managed to make a few friends I shouldve tried to be a better friend, empathizing with them even at the cost of my own interests. But, at that time I hadnt learned anything about empathy to me, I thought of friends as something I had control over, where I could Flex and [theyd] dance (i. 6). I had no concept of empathy, so when the teacher came up to me and told me that those friends were bringing my grades down, I decided to distance myself f
rom them. With no real understanding of the value of empathy I couldnt bring myself to sacrifice some of my own self-interests and as a result I spent much of those years unable to find friends and escape my loneliness. I was alone, pushing everyone else out just to save my own grades I was left with no one who would actually accept me. I wasnt able to recognize the value of empathy when it mattered the most, because of that I struggled to sacrifice my own self-interests for my friends which led to me finding myself with no one to fill my loneliness or accept me. I focused only on self-interest and completely ignored empathy, because I wouldn’t empathize with others I couldnt find anyone who would accept me. Because I couldnt sacrifice some of my own self-interest in order to empathize with others I found myself with a deep sense of loneliness.