Special Edition: 2019 Writing Contest Winners

Dirty feet. Ripped clothes. Sickness. Hunger. These are all examples that can stir someone to feel compassion, and these are all things I see right outside the gate of my home. I am a missionary kid, and I live in Kijabe, Kenya, just an hour away from the largest slum in Africa. In the local hospital, patients are kept in public wards with about twelve in each room. Staying is expensive, and if patients can’t pay their fees, they aren’t allowed to leave and their debt increases...[read more]

    Compassion is concern for the misfortune of others. Although I was born with lack of compassion shown to me, I truly believe God, my loving Father, has a plan for me. My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” I have always been drawn to this verse because it shows God’s overwhelming compassion for me... [read more]

Compassion is the ability to feel sympathy for another's struggle and to have a desire to help. Compassion is inarguably important. It is vital to any relationship if one wishes for it to last. In fact, our society as a whole would be a lot worse off without the ability to understand and care for others. While the dictionary definition is good for a broad understanding of what compassion is, it is the responsibility of individuals to determine what compassion means to them. To me, the act of compassion is a fundamental expression of humanity and hope for the future... [read more]

\What is swift? What is stealthy? Chomp – it’s a shark! Sharks by National Geographic is my favorite book. I love reading about these amazing creatures, and I would like to tell you why I love reading their story…[read more]

Compassion. It’s light, in this cold, dark, heartless world. It’s a light that allows us to see clearly in the dark, but once it flickers, it's harder to see ... then once it goes out, no one can see. No one can see which way to go. Compassion. It’s the world’s heartbeat. It keeps pounding on and on and on, but it could stop at any second, and this world would be a dead place—and so would our hearts. Compassion. It’s the lost lamb. And no matter what, we should do anything to find it, even if it means to cross into unfamiliar territory and leave everything behind to find it...[read more]

To understand compassion, we must first understand what empathy and altruism are since there is plenty of overlap between these two traits. Empathy is the visceral response to another person’s feelings, for example, when you begin to tear up when you see someone else cry. It’s happened to most of us. On the other hand, altruism is an action that benefits others, for example, volunteering at a homeless shelter…[read more]