College Admissions Essay: Sympathy For My Brother

When asked to think of a person whom I feel empathy for, one person stands out in my mind, my brother. All my life, I’ve looked up to him. His charisma, sense of humor, and way with people caused him to be the apple of every teacher’s eye, the boy every girl liked, and the friend everyone wanted. However, these good qualities were taken to the extreme in his years of high school, taking him down a path to destruction. After countless parties, explosive fights, signs of complete disrespect, and many illegal actions, my parents had enough of him and sent him out of our house for few months. With such a good life and promising future, one might ask, why did he do these things? At first these were the questions I had. However, I feel as if I finally know
why.
Attention. With a large amount of my parents attention focused on my academics and theatre and my little brothers athletics, my older brother was often overlooked, as one does not receive awards for being kind and funny. Acting out was an attempt to grasp their attention and consequently their time. This viewpoint causes me to feel empathy for my brother. No matter how I hate the fact, a large portion of my life is dedicated to seeking attention, mostly from my parents, whom I strive to please. I empathize with my brother because I see his want for my parents approval in myself and this causes me to realize why he did the things he did. The empathy I felt for him caused me to bring him food, clothes, and money, just to help him stay on his feet. This year, he has turned his life around and he is more kind and compassionate than he has ever been. Empathy is a powerful emotion and I am grateful that I felt it for my brother, for without it, I have no idea how rocky our
relationship might be.