We started out class with an update from everyone on how they’re doing. I found out that a lot of my classmates are dealing with post-grad expectations like finding a job right away or even knowing exactly what we want to do. I have been putting all this in the very back of my mind these days to prevent myself from feeling overwhelmed, but hearing my classmates’ worries brought back those same feelings to me. While it makes sense to feel stress at this point, I found out that nothing can be rushed at this stage, and we can only focus on taking life one step at a time after grad. We also had another book discussion, where the themes of holding onto happiness while we age and living in the present popped up in our discussion. One of the seniors in the book focuses on the little joys of everyday such as playing mahjong, and that reminded me of my grandma. Every day, my grandma makes sure to go outside to meet and chat with her friends, whether it’s at a dim sum teahouse or just on the sidewalks of Chinatown. Sometimes, I rarely see her at home during the day, haha. I’m glad that she has something to look forward to every day and that she’s far from feeling lonely. We ended class by meeting up with our Healthy Aging Project groups to work out more details. My group planned for an event to offer free haircuts and makeup services, but I realized that it’s so difficult to get people to volunteer their time. With or without some services, I’m confident that we can pull off an enjoyable and unique event for our seniors at the West Center.
Our group returned to Casa de Manana this week for more casual conversations with the elders. I had the chance to speak to Ed, who was also present the first time we came to Casa. He had many stories ranging from his Navy pilot experience to senior Wii Bowling competitions. He’s had the chance to pursue opportunities in education and photography after his time in the Navy. It feels so surreal whenever I speak to elders and find out about all the things they’ve accomplished and overcome while I have barely started on my own adventure. These stories from our community visits remind me that nobody’s life paths are or will be the same. There are endless possibilities and opportunities to pursue. Ed also described his life here at Casa. He said that Casa provides 3 Lincoln Continentals and buses to take the residents to group lunches or city tours. I was stumped for second after he casually mentioned the exact model of the luxury car that they have access to. Ed advises any senior looking for a retirement home to tour Casa and use it as a base comparison vs. other homes. I was surprised that he could say that so casually too because many seniors simply cannot afford a home like Casa. When he said that, I pictured the one room occupancy home that my grandma had lived in for about 2 decades. That one room costed a few hundred dollars a month. It would be great if all seniors had the option to compare and choose their ideal retirement home, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
Today, our class caught the seniors after their Zumba class at Bayside Community Center for a little group discussion. Our topic was “Life At 20”. When we first mentioned this activity, all the seniors cracked up laughing about how long ago 20 years old is. It made me really happy to see all of them share this moment of laughter. Amena, Maria, Katrina, and I got to speak to a lovely woman named Remi, who’s from the Philippines! Remi was in nursing school at age 20, and by the time she was my age (22), she was already working. She mentioned how life revolved around her studies and that there wasn’t much time for fun, which we could all relate to. One interesting thing from our conversation that stood out to me was when Amena asked whether Remi had considered becoming a nurse practitioner. Remi said no because she believes that everybody has their role in this world, and her role was being a bedside nurse (which she loved!). She reminded us to find a career that we genuinely like so that work won’t feel like work. This conversation got me thinking about what role I was… destined? to have in this world. I think that her words are good reminders because a lot of college students choose fields of study depending on their parents’ expectations or on conventional standards. Fast forward to today, Remi is prioritizing her health by attending these weekly Zumba lessons with her friends while making time for fun (which she said is possible because she doesn’t have kids, haha). Overall, I enjoyed hearing about the similarities and differences between Remi’s and our lives even though our time was short. I also feel closer to my classmates because we got to share our career goals and reasons for wanting to pursue them. I could see my classmates’ passion when they were speaking, so I know that our little group is living up to Remi’s words.
This quarter marks the start of the planning for our Healthy Aging Projects (HAPs)! We split into groups based on our interests. The class’ project ideas range from gardening workshops to an intergenerational walkathon, which all sounds amazing. It’s crazy that all these ideas will come to life within the next few months. It’s also refreshing to work with new group members for this project because everybody’s ideas are so different and innovative in the best ways. My members and I decided to create an event merging our ideas of offering free haircut and pampering services and setting up a runway and photoshoot for the seniors to work their new looks. The services would hopefully include haircuts, makeup, and/or massages. To incorporate our original idea of having a fashion show, we’re thinking about gathering clean, thrifted clothing items for the seniors to model and take at the end of the event along with goody bags filled with toiletries. Of course, there would also be a photoshoot with my DSLR and Polaroid cameras! One wholesome idea that one of my members mentioned is for us to create a magazine with all the photos from this event to showcase the beautiful faces of the West Center. The West Center is our target host site, given their abundant space and large population of lower-income seniors. We got in contact with the Center right away and turns out, our event can definitely be a possibility. I’m excited to see how our plans will improve and unfold in the coming month! Stay tuned for updates. :)
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Emily lIWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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