I don't know if it's just me, but I often times put myself into the mind of other people. Perhaps I'm too empathetic to the world, or maybe I'm just really over-dramatic, but I can't ever seem to let things go. It's as if I feel all the feelings that other people feel and I can't help it. Sometimes it's as though my heart is too big for my body, and I find it breaking for everyone. The past couple of months I've noticed it especially. With all the changes going on at the start of the school year, and the awful things happening in the media, my empathetic heart can't ever seem to catch a break.

Let me be clear, empathy is something completely different from sympathy. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone, while empathy is feeling what someone else is feeling. This is also not a "mightier than thou" speech either, it's mostly something I find many people can relate to. Over this past month, some of my friends have had things going on that have been less than ideal, I was all ready to start school with my nice new job, and get closer with all my sorority sisters. I felt like I was on a cloud. Then all of a sudden, I see my close friends drop like flies. It was so strange to me, while my life seemed to be up in the sky while all my friends started to sink into the earth.

There's nothing worse than hearing someone you love to say, "I've been keeping something from you and I didn't want to tell you this, but..." There are too many emotions that happen once they finish that sentence. For empathetic people, you suddenly feel as though you've swallowed up their emotions whole, and there really isn't much you can do about it. I always find myself to be the one crying when I should be doing the comforting. Why is that? Perhaps there is something about the human psyche that we cannot fully understand. It's as if I've channeled the person's emotions to a point where I feel as though I'm living their current situation. I don't even feel like allowing myself to have fun when I know someone else is unable to.

I know that I'm not the only person in the world who feels this way, and it's important to recognize that if you do feel this way, it's not a bad thing. Empathy is a trait not everyone possesses, and it allows you to be a more compassionate human being. However, I strongly suggest that all my fellow overly sensitive people out there understand that it's okay to have a life and to have. The fact that you have so much concern is amazing and admirable, but do not beat yourself up for things that are out of your control. Life as an empathetic person is meant to be a gift, not a curse.