Where is the empathy? Or, like The Black Eyed Peas would say, Where Is the Love?
For years, I’ve claimed that passion is what led me to pursue a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree and now a Ph.D. in environmental engineering, and that same passion is what kept me here — away from family, from the comfort of hearing my mother tongue every day and from the warm feeling of belongingness. But now I think, was it really passion or was it a deep sense of empathy?
My soul hurts when I hear news about chemical pollution affecting wildlife or Indigenous communities fighting for their land and their rights. You can ask my CEE 6590: “Partitioning and Transformation of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems” professor about the day he saw tears coming down my face as he introduced his “Solid-Water Partitioning” lecture with a story on microplastics in albatrosses. While my mom warned me not to become a veterinarian for this exact reason, I have to say, I’m sorry to break it to you, Mom, but I am in engineering and I am still crying.
Now, imagine how I feel on a regular weekday when the Rocksteady music I queued to subdue the perpetual Ithaca cold and gray skies gets interrupted by the constant breaking news notifications from The New York Times showcasing injustices and outright cruelty. It is impossible not to question if we are losing empathy as a society or whether we’ve been desensitized to the point of thinking this is a new normal. With this, I am not taking myself out of the mass. I might sound like Michael Scott listing his weaknesses: “I care too much, I work too hard.” I too read these articles, get disappointed and make a comment here and there, then I still walk to the lab and move on with my day. However, the questioning of our society, of the state of the world and of our actions remains playing in my head. Maybe it is the Mafalda in me or an unconscious Catholic guilt. Regardless of the reason, writing as an opinion columnist for The Sun quenches the desire I have to do something with a rather instant effect.
With this column, La Vie en Frenzy, I hope to cultivate a bit more kindness towards yourself and others. Despite the grayness I just mentioned, I still see “life in pink” like Édith Piaf described in her love song, “La Vie en Rose.” Yet, realism tends to interrupt my daydreams, adding more frenzy, and it starts to sound like what Pedro Calderón de la Barca wrote:
“[…] I dream I am bound with chains,
And I dreamed that these present pains
Were fortunate ways of old.
What is life? a tale that is told;
What is life? a frenzy extreme,
A shadow of things that seem;
And the greatest good is but small,
That all life is a dream to all,
And that dreams themselves are a dream.”
My writings will include lived experiences that you might resonate with or that will open a door to an unfamiliar reality, helping you better understand your neighbor and recognize your own biases. To cultivate more empathy, we need to be aware of our surroundings and not bat an eye to a reality that might feel far from our own. Having lived in the U.S. for almost double the years I lived in Peru, the country where I was born and raised, I have learned how important it is to be conscious of our cultural identities and upbringings. With this column, I hope to shed light on these identities and how they ultimately affect us as individuals and our environment. The passion, or innate care, I described earlier for our natural environment will also be present as a common theme in my writing. While my goal is connection, I am not shy of confrontation, so don’t tease me with a good time. I’m not here to solely discuss climate change or immigration; I want to explore the link between human behavior, cultural relationships and our bonding with nature.
The Cornell Daily Sun is interested in publishing a broad and diverse set of content from the Cornell and greater Ithaca community. We want to hear what you have to say about this topic or any of our pieces. Here are some guidelines on how to submit. And here’s our email: associate-editor@cornellsun.com.
Vie Villafuerte is an Opinion Columnist and a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her column, La Vie en Frenzy, reflects on cultural identity, environmental realities and the incessant struggle to hold onto love and harmony in a world that feels increasingly divided. She can be reached at vav27@cornell.edu.
