# Gear Up
**_What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?_**
I think empathy plays a bigger role than I realize in my day to day life. As a former designer I had to empathize with my clients all   the time to figure out what it was that they wanted out of the design. When you design something the end product is usually not         intended for you so you have to empathize to understand the who it is for.

**_How does empathy help you build better software?_**
Empathy helps build better software because it allows you to understand what is really important to customers. When you fully           understand the user you can create software that caters better to their needs. This also allows for a higher chance your software will   succeed and have less time and money wasted in the dev process.

**_Why is empathy important for working on a team?_**
It's important for working on a team because it allows you to understand where people are coming from instead of just butting heads.     By empathizing with your teammates it allows for contructive discussions.

**_Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful._**
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios? Sometimes I find it difficult to empathize with upper management in certain situations especially if their decisions directly effect me.