More than 30 students and staff at Futuro Verde were given the prompt “Caring is …” with a piece of paper to write down their thoughts. Everyone had something to say about what it means to them to be caring or to be cared for. The most popular answer was summed up by one respondent, “putting someone else’s needs before yours.” This selfless attitude was echoed by many others who added the theme of service. “Helping others without expecting anything in return” was a belief held by many. Listening was identified by several as being an important aspect of caring. The one word answers were just as strong, with “empathy”, “kind” and “understanding” being popular responses.
The prompt inspired most people to write down what they feel it means to be caring. However, it was obvious that many were drawing from their own experiences and feelings and were making a plea for how they would like to be cared for. As one wrote, “Caring is treating others like you would like to be treated. Compassion and love together [sic].” Always an important thing to remind ourselves of.