Before reading This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism by Ashton Applewhite, I never thought about the idea and impact of ageism. Ageism is an attitude about elders that society has created and is not given much thought about how it came to be. My thoughts and perspective about how I think and approach age(ism) has change. The goal of life is to stay healthy, not stay young. According to research, aging is the way to getting younger because brain image show changes that improves the ability to handle stress and experience fewer social anxieties and social phobia. Which are all negativities that we did not have to handle and care for when we were younger, as children. However, when you are in middle age, you care about how you are perceived in the public eye, whereas when you are a child or elder, these are care-free. Elders are capable of many things, but society has classed them of not being able. This reading provides insights and feelings about the different struggles that elders are confronted with and provides possible ways on how we can approach them. Hence, Life Scholar Course is a class that should be available at every college campus because it is an opportunity to learn about and engage with elderlies. I believe this class can help change the stigma that surrounds aging and foster a relationship between the youth and elders. People should aim to live longer, not younger because with time, you age. Aging should be seen as an accomplishment, because it demonstrates living, living a life to the fullest. I am going to proudly age and live a long and healthy life.
My extraordinary person is my aunt and she is 56 years old. I chose her because this is a school project, that you make for someone, has been long overdue. I have been meaning to make her something and this assignment gave me the opportunity to do so. This is oral history report is what she deserves to have, so her memories can live on forever. I want the future generation of cousins to be able to read her memoir and learn about who our aunt was. For my oral history, I decided to mold clay into a shape of an airplane. My aunt loves planes. I remember when I was younger, she would take my cousins and I to the museum, when there was a planes exhibits, or to airplane and jets shows. She has a collection of all different types of planes, and I wanted to add to her collection. The memoir is an airplane clay model on a painted plane runaway with a display stand that holds a pamphlet. Inside this pamphlet are her memories. I wanted to make this mock exhibit as a physical component to the memoir because I thought it would be something that she would appreciate. The memoir showcases her love for planes, her memories about us, and her stories about what she loves. Through this memoir, I did not only learn about my aunt, I was able to learn more about my family’s history. I was introduced to family members that I was not able to, but wished I did. She gave me insight about what it was like to live in my homeland. Because of this memoir, my aunt has been inspired to write an extended version or a book about her life memories, well I would actually write it as she tells me the stories.
It has been a while seen we have been in our regular classroom. After the fieldtrips we have been on, it was pleasant to sit down and discuss about the past and future events for the course. The class is more than field¬¬¬trips around San Diego, we are learning and engaging in activities and projects that enhance our understanding about the importance of generational interrelationship and construction concepts. An event that I am looking forward to are the dances at Casa de Manana and Gary and Mary West senior centers and Extraordinary Person oral history report. We have begun planning how we want to go about for these proms. The organization for the prom is what I imagine what student who are in associated student body would do when they organize dances for the school. It was fun deciding the theme, decoration, and games for the dance, it allowed us to be creative and strategic about how we envision the prom. The prom is more than just a dance, it is a way for two different generations learn the similarities or difference through their interactions and conversations. It will be a night full of chit-chat and laughter, fun games and good food, and memories, mentally (mind) and physically (photos). I hope my extraordinary person will have the opportunity to experience similar events, or maybe I can partake in planning a similar one in my community. But for right now, for my extraordinary person, I am planning to make a physical memoir from modeling clay. I want the memoir to be something that they can touch and see, something that they are able to hold and read whenever they want. Definitely, looking forward to presenting my EP oral history report within the next couple weeks of class. I am ready to be back in class and deliberate about all the different assignments for the course.
WOW! I have been to La Jolla cove before and would have never guessed that Casa de Manana is a senior center. I would have guessed that it was just a hotel, especially since it is located so close to the beach. These seniors here are really living the life and I aspire to acquire this when I become a senior. I am not so sure that I would live in a senior center, but I would like to have the option to. As I tour the center, it feels and looks like a hotel resort, which it was before it became a senior center. In this center there are an assortment of amenities for seniors to partake in, such as a pool, sauna, gym, library, theater, and chapel. The chapel does not have any specific religion entitled in the space, so it is inclusive for anyone to use. This center tries to incorporate many lifelong learning and engagement for the seniors. We were able to meet and talk with some seniors and it is so interesting to hear their life stories. I know so many people say this, but honestly it is so true. Everyone experiences so many different things throughout their lives and being able to hear it can only make you imagine. Something that shocked me was how young each individual looked; their mental and physical appearance did not match. I hope when I become a senior I am as healthy and active as these “seniors”. Compared to the other tours we have done at different senior centers in San Diego, there are so many differences between each center, base on affordability. Through these trips and visits to these centers has taught me that there is a relationship between income and health. I have learned so much about senior centers and it has changed my perspective about senior centers.
P.S. I want to give a birthday shout out to the ma’am who is turning 100 today! I did not catch the name, but HAPPY 1ooth BIRTHDAY! That is honestly an accomplishment (of mine). San Diego is a huge, huge, huge, city. There are so many different people and places that can be seen throughout each city in San Diego. Through the Life Course Scholar Program, I was given the opportunity to visit different senior centers that offer affordable housing for seniors who reside within San Diego. Each housing option had their own personality, no two were alike. Many of the centers originally had a difference purpose before they became senior centers, for example, Celadon was a parking lot and New Palace Hotel was a hotel. Many of the housing centers were surrounded by a bus stop and a convenient grocery store, with sidewalks for seniors to saunter on. In addition, many of the buildings had architectural styles that did not make them appear as senior centers, more so as apartment or business complex, that blend within the community surroundings. On the tour, we were able to tour two very different affordable senior housing options, the Sara Francis Hometel and North Park Senior Apartments. Because the housing had different price, it reflects the overall presentation of the housing opportunity available for the seniors’ base on their income level. At the Sara Francis Hometel, it was originally a hotel and you can make that assumption as you tour the place. It is not an ideal housing for seniors, but unfortunately some seniors are only able to afford this housing. Because the center is a transitional housing- for anyone, not just senior, but they do occupy majority of the space, they do offer some amenities such as a bed and microwave and being close to Potiker Family Senior Residence allows seniors to receive at least two free meals daily by Serving Seniors. Whereas, at the NorthPark Senior Apartments, there is a difference between the places. This housing option is San Diego’s first affordable housing for LGBTQ+ seniors. I love the structure of this place because you know that they thought about different features that could make it easier for seniors to maneuver throughout the space. Each floor were different colors so senior can recognize if they were on the correct or wrong floor and the doorbells were different base on a difficulty the senior may have. Little features such as these can make a difference in the experience for seniors. Base on the senior’s income level, it can determine what housing option is available for them to rent, which affects their overall experience, health, and services.
I have never been to a senior center before. I have only heard things about senior centers, some negative and some positive. Being able to visit the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in San Diego was a learning experience about the government, community, and elderly. This center is more than a center that assist the elders. This center care for the elders who live in property; providing all types of services: meals, health, dental, mental, and support, free of charge. Aside from providing housing and meals, they offer various programs that are meant for lifelong learning that benefit the elders in todays time. Elderlies are able to participate in fitness and social activities, as well, as educational workshops. Something that I thought was really cool was the Cyber Café because in today’s time, the internet is the powerhouse of how we operate. We use the internet to communicate with the world, hence, it is important that elders learn how to interact with computers. If they are interested in applying for a job, application is usually online, so they need to know how to use the computer to access the internet for the application. I love how the center makes this resource available for the seniors. From the help of volunteers and donations, they are able to have programs like these, that contributes to healthy aging. During the visit, I was able to have a conversation with an elder, who told us little snippets about his life. It is interesting to listen to the different life experience someone has had as they age through life. As I was walking around assisting in serving the first round of lunch, I saw my peers having engrossed conversation with the elders. There was a sense of community within the space. I will definitely volunteer when I am able to. I believe the space will able to teach me many things about life, through the interacting and talking with the seniors.
Zumba is an activity that individuals from all ages can participate in. It is a fun way to exercise to maintain your health. In a 15-minute car ride from La Jolla to Linda Vista, you arrive at the Bayside Community Center, where they offer Zumba to the community for a low cost of $4 per hour session on Monday or Wednesday. As soon as it was 9:30AM, Zumba class has begun. It was fun to dance with my peers and the elderly. The elders made dancing look so easy, where I was struggling to imitate what the instructor was doing. After an hour, Zumba was over, but we stayed and chat with some elders. I was able to talk to a member of the community who has lived in Linda Vista for majority of her life. She told us stories about how she was able to see the changes throughout the city. She said that the community center use to located across the street, which is now a charter school. The current location of the community center use to be a 99-cent store and I can definitely see it in the center. This Zumba class happened to be her first time in the Zumba class at the center. She had decided to attend the class because she wanted to start becoming more active in her life. She said that this class was a form of self-care, for herself. She has become a stay at home mom ever since she had her children. Through the conversation, I was able to learn a lot about her and her life. She wants to be more involved in the community and she wants to go back to school. It is amazing that she wants to do this because it shows that it does not matter what age you are. If you want to do something, you can do it, regardless of your age. It depends on how motivated you are to do what you want. Age should not discourage you from doing anything. Although, she would not be considered an elder, she the age between millennials and elders. So, this provides an insight on an individual who is between these ages. It is interesting to listen to people’s story about their experience of life. It makes me think about who I will be in the future. There are so many possibilities. I do know that I want to be active in my community and health.
The Life Course Scholars 2019 Retreat felt like a real retreat. The retreat may have been located just a mile or so off campus, but the location and design of the Martin Johnson house made it real. Through the retreat, I was able to learn more about my fellow peers and the San Diego communities. In addition, the relationship between demographics, such as sex, socioeconomic status, and location in regard to age differs. It is important to understand that there is an age gap between the “young” and the “old”, that should be addressed for intergeneration connections, which may influence healthy aging. There are many factors that can contribute to an individual’s health as they age. During the retreat we played a board game, which was similar to the game of LIFE, where we learned that socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gestation can play a role in your health and age outcome. This board game tried to replicate the lives of individuals who come have different backgrounds and struggles. I thought the game demonstrated the different possibilities individuals can have throughout life. After the game, Trish Benesh, author of 7 Memories: Partnering to Write a Memoir, came to teach and guide us through the process of creating a memoir, for an extraordinary person. I gained knowledge on how I should address and discuss with my EP, when I write my memoir for them. Learning about how to use affirmative language with my EP can develop a deeper conversation and connection. Making a memoir makes me think about if there will be a memoir about me when I am become an “elder”. The exercise “When I’m 80” made me think about where and who I will be at that point in my life. I have many different scenarios that come to mind when I think about it. I want to be involved in my communities and be involved in protests for humans, animals, and the environment. I hope I am healthy enough where I can roller-skate by the beach as the sunsets. Or I live in a home that has a garden and hammock with my loved ones, where it is the go-to spot for parties and get togethers. Maybe I will be across the country, involved in an organization that assist those in need. Hopefully, I do not have my driving privileges revokes so I can coast highway in my yellow Volkswagen bus, from city to city. The Mindfulness Coastal Walk activity made me think about how important it is to care for your well-being. As we were climbing the stairs, it came to my attention that if I was not as healthy or active as I am now, that could have been difficult for me to do. Especially with the incline and the inaccessible stairway, it would have been difficult for elders. Hence, it is important to take into consideration about all the different factors that could impact the experiences for life as we age. Overall, the retreat was a great experience with great people and great weather to learn about health, age, and life.
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ALISA HULWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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