There is something about the new Dawn commercial that gives me an inexplicable desire to get out there and start scrubbing an otter.

The sweet advertisement depicts volunteer workers scrubbing animal victims of an oil spill clean with Dawn dish detergent, with the promise of a one dollar contribution to help save wildlife with every bottle purchased.

Maybe it is because Joe Purdy's "Wash Away" is perfect for the ad or because the blackened baby animals are just so cute and helpless -- nevertheless, it makes me want to do something selfless, outside of my own personal interests.

I get that the Dawn is trying to sell a product, and therefore their one dollar per bottle contribution to saving wildlife is not completely philanthropic, but it still gets me every time.

One of my favorite professors last year often spoke of solipsism, of being trapped within your own perspective, ideas and motives. She felt that too many college students are predominantly self-absorbed and self-involved.

I didn't exactly agree with her at the time on the latter idea, but I'm starting to understand her perspective.

Much of what I do is largely motivated out of self-interest -- I want to be a better writer, a better journalist, a better and happier individual. The victims of oil spills depicted on the Dawn commercial reminds me that there are millions of people -- and animals -- in need, and millions willing to help them free of personal gain or interest.

I find that truly amazing, and it makes me wonder what I'm doing to help, what I'm doing to get outside of myself.

The whole thing comes down to the opposite of solipsism -- empathy, that favorite word of literary enthusiasts, philanthropists and Democrats.

I always like to think of empathy in the way it is referenced by Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton in Funny Face -- something abstract, philosophical, never personified and always insisted upon. The closing scene, when Fred Astaire as the photographer Dick Avery finally grasps the notion of empathy when his feelings for Jo force him to experience it, is another one that always gets me.

Both Dawn and Funny Face understand that for the average person to feel motivated by empathy, there needs to be a face, a name, connected with the action.

Take the image of Neda Agha-Soltan, the woman who was recently shot in Tehran and served as a face for the public to identify with. She helped the world understand and care about the plight of Iran in the midst of turmoil after the election, simply by providing a face and a name.

I'm not sure if striving for empathy means I need to join the Peace Corps, or if it can be achieved by brightening someone's day or writing, helping provide people with faces and names with which to empathize.

State College provides ample opportunity to get involved, to help or understand others -- diversity events, Habitat for Humanity, thousands of inhabitants to hold a conversation with.

I do know I want to try something that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with someone else.

Thank you, Dawn advertisement writers.

Caitlin Sellers is a sophomore majoring in English and is The Daily Collegian's Friday columnist. Her e-mail address is cas5505@psu.edu.