I needed him to understand he would never live this choice like I was going to live it. This was the double blade of how I felt about anything that hurt: I wanted someone else to feel it with me, and also I wanted it entirely for myself.
I agree with the comparison to a double blade. Having someone feel and understand your pain to the same degree would require them to experience it the same way.
bleak winter
This reminded me of "In the Bleak Midwinter" song that is referenced to multiple times in the "Peaky Blinders" series.
LESLIE JAMISON
I like how Jamison used the same format from her other "Exams".
Empathy isn’t just listening, it’s asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to. Empathy requires inquiry as much as imagination. Empathy requires knowing you know nothing. Empathy means acknowledging a horizon of context that extends perpetually beyond what you can see
This is part of the excerpt in TIS that attracted my attention. I think Leslie Jamison describes empathy really well. Empathy requires you to question things and consider a wide range of possibilities because you can not know everything.
That must really be hard
The phrase can also sound kind of dismissive in some instances.
his/her
I understand that this essay is from 2014, but I can definitely see how using "their" would be more inclusive. I think it would also improve the writing.
I do things! I want to tell them.
Meeting someone when you are playing a character sounds like a challenge. They may never know who you really are and will just see you as that character. The fact of being remembered as someone/something you aren't can sometimes get to you. You can only hope they forget or someday have a chance to meet you genuinely.
I am a writer, which is to say: I’m trying not to be broke.
Seems about write.
Voiced empathy for my situation/problem
I believe it is very important, but I didn't expect it to be considered the most important over more than 30 items/categories.
fifteen-minute encounter
I am guessing the students are aware that the patients are actors. Either way, they must be nervous.
Your brother’s name was Will.
I like how this fragment was at the end of the section and they didn't start off by telling you the brother's name. The way the information is dumped and then labeled by a name, Will, I think can be efficient in helping you remember.
The scripts dig deep into our fictive lives
I know this is necessary to play the part, but that is a lot of information to remember. I would probably get confused with my real information.
I didn’t know you could have a seizure from sadness.
Me neither.
$13.50 an hour
I hope this is enough for the work people would be required to do. I have no clue how many hours they would be acting, but I wonder if they can also get paid for the day instead of hourly.
Medical Actor
I don't think I have ever heard of someone being a medical actor, but it sounds interesting.
The Empathy Exams
Tell It Slant is what mostly led me to selecting this essay to annotate. I also think empathy is really important to have or at least explore.