### Gear Up

#### Developing Empathetic Programmers

1.  What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
  * Empathy is one of the personal characteristics that I have been working on the most in my adult life because of its importance in relating with and understanding people. The more empathy we have, the more effectively we are able to communicate and help those around us. Developing how empathetic I am has helped me become a better friend, daughter, co-worker, and just all around person. No matter what, human beings are social creatures and we are going to have to interact with others, so we might as well try to make those interactions pleasant and helpful. In addition, empathy has helped me realize the importance of helping those around you who may not be able to help themselves, whether as a friend providing a shoulder to lean on for someone who may be hurting or as a professional developing a product that can actually change lives.
2. How does empathy help you build better software?
  * While building software or really any product, it is important to keep in mind who your users are. Although something might make sense to us, if the people who are using it might find it clunky or difficult to understand, the software won't be successful. Coming up with a great idea for something we think might have a place in the marektplace isn't enough. We need to actually research the wants and needs of the people that are going to buy it or use it. Only after using empathy to understand the user can we actually create a superior product.
3. Why is empathy important for working on a team?
  * As I stated above, as human beings living on planet Earth, it is inevitable that we will have to interact with other humans. And for better and worse, every single person is their own little world of emotions, behaviors, and interests. So when working on a team, it is very likely that there will be people of all different working styles that may even clash at some very critical times in a project's development. To avoid this or fix it when it happens, it is important for us to use empathy to understand why a fellow teammate may be reacting in a certain way. Or to understand another's teammate's way of communicating so that we can better communicat our own ideas.
4. Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
  * While working at Zara, I discovered that the multinational fast fashion company had had so much success because of its high pressure and extremely negative environment that pushed people beyond their limits. During my time there, I had a very difficult boss who during her time there transformed from a tough yet effective worker into a complete monster because of the professional abuse she endured for 3 years. I would be lying if I said that I didn't suffer below her, but in comparison with many of my colleagues I was affected less by her because I did my best to understand where she was coming from. I saw the good qualities in her and knew that when she yelled at me and humilated me over trivial things, it was because that was the way she was treated when she first started at the company as well. So even though in reality, I was one of the people that received the brunt of her wrath, I dealt with her in an empathetic way and in the end gained her respect more than other colleagues might've been able to do. To this day I am one of the only people that worked below her that speaks about her in positive way, and in turn I am one of the few that isn't still dealing with the abusive treatment we endured with her.
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?
 * It is most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings when your fellow coworker or boss is doing the exact opposite of being empathetic. It can be very difficult when a boss or colleague is not ready to listen to your side of the story. In these situations, I think patience is your greatest strength because in these types of situations it is very easy to react based on our personal emotions and feelings before considering the situation of the other person. In the moment, I try to take a step back mentally from the situation so that it doesn't affect me on a personal level and I can react in a professional and effective way.