"Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world." Barack Obama

It started out to be such a good day. I was in my room, doing one of my favorite things, playing with Legos, when my cousin Jack dropped by for a visit.

"Oh boy", I thought. "We always have a good time playing together".

At first it seemed like everything was going along nicely. But then my little brother Kyle opened the door.

"Can I play too?" he asked.

"No", I shouted. "It is just Jack and me. Go away!"

Kyle looked very sad as he quickly closed the door. We kept playing until Aunt Jamie came to pick up Jack.

Later that night as my dad was putting me to bed he said,"Kyle felt really bad that you wouldn't let him play with you today. You should put yourself in his shoes sometimes." Before I could ask what he meant by that, he leaned over and gave me a kiss and turned off the light.

"Good night Trevor,"he said.

I fell asleep wondering what he meant. Kyle's' shoes are too small for me. I could never fit into them. I have all kinds of shoes - soccer shoes, baseball shoes, running shoes.

When I awoke the next morning the sun was shining in my window. It was my favorite day - Saturday. I jumped out of bed and ran to my closet to get my favorite Pokemon shirt. After I put on my shirt, I turned to find my shoes in my shoe basket by the door. None of the shoes looked like mine. I could see that there was a pair of bright pink volleyball shoes, a small pair of ballet shoes, a pair of orange soccer shoes, and a pair of basketball shoes. The basketball shoes looked a bit like mine, but mine did not have red shoe laces.

I leaned over to touch the volleyball shoes and before I knew it, I wasn't in my room anymore. I was at my cousin Kate's volleyball game. The game was just ending. I wondered if their team had won the game. Kate came running over to me. I wasn't sure if she was happy or sad. I FOCUSED on her face. She was smiling. Was she just happy to see me? The only way to be sure was to ask her and LISTEN to her reply.

"Kate, you look happy."I said with a grin.

"Yes, Trevor, I am very happy. I made the winning point in today's game. Our team won 25-23.

I IMAGINED what it would feel like to score the winning point. I thought of a time when I made the final basket in a basketball game. Everyone was cheering and hugging me. It made me feel really happy.

"Congratulations, Kate,"I RESPONDED. "You must feel really good about how you played". And just like that.........

I was back in my closet. I could barely move. I was wedged on the shelf above my clothes and my feet were just about to kick a blue box of soccer shoes onto the floor. As carefully as I could, I moved my legs so that they dangled down and made a quick jump to the floor below.

"That was strange," I thought. "How did I get in the closet? And where are my shoes?"

I looked at my shoe basket again. What would happen if I touched the ballet shoes with my baseball bat instead of my hand?

I dug my baseball bat out of my bag and lightly touched the ballet shoes.

And just like that....

I was in some big room with mirrors and girls dancing around in little pink skirts. "Yikes," I thought." Where can I hide?" I looked around the room for a place to hide when I noticed her. It was my cousin Penny. She was dancing around and twirling in her ballet shoes. It was hard for me to see the expression on her face because she was turning in circles. When I FOCUSED my attention on her face I could see that her eyes were wide open and she had a big grin on her face.

She seemed more than just happy. She seemed excited about something. But what could make her dance and spin? To find out I would need to cross the room and stop her from dancing long enough to LISTEN to her answer.

"Penny, you seem to be excited. What is it about?" I asked

"I get to have a leading part in our upcoming dance recital" Penny answered excitedly.

I didn't know much about dancing . (Actually, I don't know anything about it except what I saw on Happy Feet Two!) But I IMAGINED what it felt like to get a leading part in something. I remembered when I had the narrator part in our class play last Christmas. I practiced and practiced till I knew my lines by heart. After the play everyone congratulated me on learning my lines so well.

"I know how it feels to practice something and try your best," I RESPONDED. "It is great to have family and friends watch you. And just like that.......

I was back in my closet. But this time I was stuck in the top drawer of my dresser. Ouch! My head hit the top of the drawer. I had to really push to get the drawer open and get down from the dresser. "This is getting crazy,' I thought.

From the kitchen I could hear my mom calling. "Hurry up Trevor. I am making your favorite Mickey Mouse pancakes!"

"I'll be there in a minute, mom," I shouted. "I need to find my shoes."

I looked in the basket and saw the basketball shoes that looked a little bit like mine. Maybe these are just an old pair of shoes . I quickly reached down to grab them.

And just like that .....

I felt a jolt as I realized I was laying on the floor of a basketball court. Right under the basket!

I could see my cousin Jack heading for a left hand layup. Just as he was about to shoot the layup his foot came down on my hand and he missed it. Immediately, I could see the look on his face . (I didn't need to FOCUS very hard since he was so close to me!) He did not look happy at all.

The coach called a time out and I headed over to listen to him talk to his players. "Jack, that was a good effort." he said.

I leaned in closely so I could LISTEN to Jack's answer. "Thanks, coach. I have been working hard on my left hand layup. I am so disappointed that I didn't make it."

I walked to the sidelines and sat down on the bleacher next to my cousin Penny. I tried to IMAGINE a time when I was disappointed by something. I wanted to picture how it felt. I remember a time when I struck out in baseball. I really, really wanted to hit a home run.

I was picturing that day on the baseball field when the buzzer went off to signal half time. Jack came running over to get a drink. I thought about how I should RESPOND to Jack's disappointment. It needed to be something that would make him feel better.

"You were really trying hard to make that layup, Jack."I said. "I bet you will make the next one !" Jack smiled broadly at me.

And just like that....

I was back in my bedroom. Now I was twisted in the covers. I must have been trying to make layup moves of my own in my sleep. I slowly got out of bed and once more headed to my basket of shoes.

There was still one more pair of shoes I had not touched. They were neon orange soccer shoes. They almost seemed to glow. What else could possibly happen? I had been magically taken to a volleyball game, a ballet dance studio, and came dangerously close to getting my head stepped on in a basketball game.

"Where would I go now?" I wondered " Would I be dropped onto a soccer field in the middle of a game with a bunch of screaming girl soccer players? "

"Yikes!" What a thought! I lightly touched some dirt on the side of the neon orange soccer shoe.

And just like that .....