Empathy in Action
Anessa (She/They) is a student at UNM pursuing an English degree, hoping one day to become a professor. She identifies as a Christian and carries a deep desire to understand others and build meaningful connections across differences.
What drew Anessa to The Open Table Connection was a longing to live out empathy in a real, tangible way. Anessa first joined The Open Table on an outing to share in an Ramadan dinner at the Raindrop Foundation. “The best way to gain empathy,” she shared, “is to get to know people and participate in their cultures,” she said, emphasizing the importance of presence over assumptions. Attending the Ramadan dinner became a powerful moment of that lived empathy. “I thought it was really nice,” she said, “and very informative,” adding thoughtfully.
What impacted her most was the sense of connection created through something simple yet profound. “Being able to eat with people,” she said, “really kind of set in that family feeling,” explaining that sharing a meal made the experience “more intimate than just sitting down and talking.” That table became more than food, it became a larger community.
After the Ramadan dinner experience with The Open Table, Anessa found herself deeply affirmed. “My opinion of the Muslim community didn’t change that much, because it was already positive,” she reflected, “but it definitely gave me an inside view of their community,” she said, recognizing how firsthand experience replaces assumptions. Her connection to The Open Table continued to grow as she attended Thursday meals at Luther House. In smaller, more intentional spaces, Anessa discovered something she had been missing. “It’s so easy to get forgotten,” she said of larger groups, but at Luther House, that wasn’t her experience. Instead, she found a place where community felt personal, where people were seen, and where empathy wasn’t just an idea, it was practiced around the table and in the community.
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