This is Nadia Ayad. She’s a freshman here
at OSU. I asked her about what gives meaning
to life and what her kind of “motto” was. On
the first topic, she responded, “I haven’t
thought about [the meaning of life], but I’m
okay with not having one – I mean, I have a
meaning for my own life, but I don’t think
there needs to be a universal one.” Then,
after considering her “motto” for awhile,
she said, “No one needs a mantra. You just
need to know what you value most. I
definitely value empathy over anything else.
That’s just the reason for any kind of violence
in the world – lack of empathy. You don’t
take time to understand people and have
compassion for them. And violence doesn’t
mean just physical…it can be cultural or
structural.” Nadia then expanded on why
she thinks empathy can be a solution to
many issues in the world today.