This essay recounts an incident from 2020, during my time as a NSS student coordinator. As a child, my trouble with empathy in conversations didn’t matter much. However, once I started college, my socialization skills started to crumble. This affected my self-esteem and I distanced myself from my peers. The founder of our college – Amma, conducted an event in the city outskirts, and I was selected as a volunteer. My role was to ensure volunteers received their volunteer badges. I was satisfied with my role since I didn’t have to speak much. In spite of the lack of luck I had, I was assigned to supervise people queuing up for free food at the counter.
The waiting line went from 20 local villagers to 150 With no barricade to hold them back in line. I had difficulty interacting with them as a non-local. There are times when rude people can disrupt a crowd. I got flustered. But I became more tolerant of such people as my encounter with the crowd increased. Some impudent people asked me if I was biased, when I allowed senior citizens to cut queue or for the kids to be reunited with their families in the line but refused others.
After a long time I felt confident as I stood up for myself when I interacted with an impolite crowd. In spite of the language barrier, I was able to handle the crowd without breaking any rules, and I felt a boost in my people skills. In the evening, I was heartened to see them eat contentedly. It’s called happiness, I guess. After that, I started working at my college’s narration club and joined the PR department. My confidence in socializing increased over time. That may not be an accomplishment, but it did enhance my empathy.
