Feeling everything so deeply all the time is exhausting. Under extreme circumstances, it can certainly weigh you down. I’ve been called “over-emotional”, “tender-hearted”, or a “bleeding heart”. You’ve heard the term “bleeding heart” before. In terms of politics, the phrase often has a startling negative connotation. In some cases, being called a “bleeding heart” is an insult, because, in the eyes of some Americans, empathy is considered a weakness. When did cruelty and negativity become associated with strength?

In such a time of adversity and hate-filled speech, empathy is what we need. The world does not need cynicism. It needs kindness and understanding.

At one point, I was convinced that feeling everything, all the time, was a weakness. It made me vulnerable, and it made me emotional; therefore, it made me weak. But there’s a certain power that comes with vulnerability, and there’s power in compassion, too. People disregard it too easily, but empathy has made me who I am, and I’m proud to be the over-emotional, compassionate person that God made me.

My empathy is not a joke or a weakness. It does not make me fragile.

Sometimes, I need to remind myself that carrying the weight of other peoples’ sorrow constantly is not my responsibility. It’s easy to feel responsible for everything that does not have a clear answer. But never have I felt ashamed for the way I feel; empathy is power, and sometimes I have to be reminded.

Above all things, I am allowed to feel.

Overall, being an emotional person has given me too much to name. To feel so in touch with the people around me, and to have an emotional connection with everything, is something I would never dream of trading. To care so deeply about the people I’ve never met and the places I’ve never seen is so rewarding because to feel everything is to love everything. Why would I ever deny myself that?

If empathy makes me weak, let it be so. I’d much rather be considered emotional than cruel, or push something away because I don’t understand it. But I know that compassion is brilliant when it is used to create change. Every movement starts with a feeling, and that’s why we need them.