My parents tell me I was a very empathetic and a kind child.
I don’t remember that clearly though.
I have a younger brother, who was a troublemaker and a very naughty child and older boys always tried to harass him, so I would often stand between them. I didn’t want him to grow up with the trauma of being bullied, so while he was too young to protect himself, I took on that responsibility.
I was very good at talking and made sure all these older guys felt silly while talking with me.
The very first fight I had, I had because of my brother, he was 4, I was 6 and there was an 9 year old boy who tried to hit him because he wouldn’t stop being by playful to him.
It was a birthday party, seems like that boy was a bit psycho, so when I confronted him, he got too aggressive to me. I never did well with people being aggressive to me. My first instinct is not to flee when attacked, my first instinct is to attack back. It helps that I looked very gentle and peaceful, because they never expected that.
So, our parents were catching us both, me and that guy, as he was trying to reach me and hit me and I was trying to reach him 🤣
* by the way, ironically years later he fell for me and asked me for marriage :) *
Even tho I always protected my brother, I didn’t do it out of empathy necessarily, I did it because I considered it my job and my main responsibility.
He was also the only person who loved me unconditionally.
I am sure I’ve felt empathy before as well, as we often tried to save some injured animals and help them.
The first time I realized I felt empathy on a conscious level, I was 10 years old,
I was at school,
I saw a boy who looked very similar to my brother from a far and he was standing between 4 boys and they were beating him, I felt so extremely sad for him and so angry at these 4 boys.
For the first time I asked myself “What if he was my brother?”
That’s the question that made me fall in love with humans and changed my life.
I think existence of my brother turned me into a better person because thanks to his unconditional love, I learned loving people and empathizing with them.
But it also got very painful for me, because I would take everything so close to my heart, I could cry everytime I’d hear someone stranger died or got hurt, because I was putting myself in their shoes.
My parents sat with me and talked to me that they knew I loved my brother, but it was important to let him learn how to protect himself, so I had to let go of my responsibility and let him learn how to deal with problems alone.
I always had his best interests, I did as they ask.
