gear_up_prework.md

1. What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?

   Empathy has and is a big part of my life. It is part of who I am and to simply put it has made me into the person I am today. I can connect with other people easily and feel what they are feeling. I understand that people are different and that we need to learn from each other, not tear each other down. Empathy has helped me be more comscious of others around me. When I listen to others using empathy I can relate more to their needs and understand where they are coming from. I worked as a supervisor for a restaurant and listening to your employees and understanding them by using empathy helped make the work relationship run more smoothly which in turn made both parties enjoy the work that they were doing.

2. How does empathy help you build better software?

   When you are developing something you may have an idea of who might be using it and for what reason. Human nature though is fickle so we never know what our outcome will be. By using emapthy we can see how our software is working for them and see where the software can be enhanced so that it is more user freindly to them. Empathy helps us as developers to improve our work to help those that are using the product as well as those who will be using the product in the future.

3. Why is empathy important for working on a team?

   Empathy is important for working on a team is because in this lovely country we are living in there is so many different views, cultural backgrounds, etc.., that not everyone thinks the same way and experience things the same way. With empathy it helps for one person to have a deeper understanding of where that person is coming from and why their thoughts are that way. If a team can understand each other more their would be less conflict and more effort in doing the work, instead of arguing who is right and who is wrong. Empathy helps everyone come to a common ground.

4. Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.

   Througout my whole academic life we always had to work on group projects and in most cases you didn't get to choose who you would be working with. It's easier to work with people you know as you know what is going on with their life and know their situation. If you work with someone else that is a stranger to you, you know nothing about them and their situation so when they are not doing their work you get frustrated at them without understanding them. Being able to empathize with them could clear up animosity and it helped myself and collegue to understand one another and get the work done more efficiently. I learned to understand why they couldn't get the work done and help them understand where I was coming from. In the end it made it easier to work with one another and communicate more easily.

5. When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?

   I find it most difficult to be empathetic in a professional setting where a co-worker or collegue continually makes the same mistake over and over again or when they don't give you any reason as to why their work is either sloppy or not done. What I can do to improve my skills when faced with these is to try to be more understanding of why this is happening and be patient with them as I learn how to give them feedback in a positive way so that they can also understand where I am coming from. I need to be calm and collected during this situation rather then huff and puff because in the end we need to work together, understand one another and fix the problem together. Rather then have animosity toward one another and get nothing of sloppy work done.