Pay it Forward
... Paying it forward is a prime example of how empathy can change the world. It is simply going above and beyond the golden rule in a way that it is carried on from person to person. When you do something nice for three people, those three people have to do something nice for another three people and so on and so forth. You can see how the chain could carry on if everyone took part. Not only does the main character, Trevor McKenney possess a lot of empathy to go so far as to bringing a homeless man into his home, behind his mother's back, but in the end, the mother gains more empathy as well. The quote I have chosen from Jerry, the homeless man, really can take you for an emotional ride if you let it. Talking about the first time he had to sleep in a dumpster and how it felt to know he messed his life up really puts your mental and emotional strength to the test. Trevor took it upon himself to give Jerry another chance to make things better for himself and it really worked. If everyone had that much empathy in our world, I don't think we'd see homeless people at all...
"I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses." - Trevor McKenney, Pay it Forward.
"Well, you can't know. Not until you look at a dumpster. But when you climb into that thing for the first time and you pull those newspapers over you, that's when you know you've messed your life up. Somebody comes along like your son, and gives me a leg up, I'll take it. Even from a kid, I'll take it." - Jerry, Pay it Forward.
