On Tuesday, we had the dance at Casa de Mañana! The event was quite a success. I got there early to help set up. Wayne, Deanna and I worked on decorations. The theme for the dance was rock n’ roll. We set up the photo booth which I think was a big hit. Many seniors stopped by to get their pictures taken and there were several others who wanted to wear boas, funky glasses and beads throughout the event. I loved their spirit! I also gave out raffle tickets to seniors and they were very enthusiastic about it. I loved the prizes we gave out, especially the plants. I think the seniors appreciated them too because I overheard a group of elderly ladies talking to each other about how much they wanted the plants. We had a live band for the dance and although they did not play the best music in my opinion, I had really hoped the seniors would join us at the dance floor. Most of them however, just enjoyed watching us dancing. There were a few seniors who were very enthusiastic about dancing and I loved their energy. Their moves were so good! Overall, I had a great time. I enjoyed talking to some of the seniors at the dance. They said they had a wonderful time and that made me very happy.
Neighborhood Age-Friendly Evaluation Projects
On Wednesday, we presented our Neighborhood Age-Friendly Evaluation Projects (NAPs) in class. This project was very meaningful for me because it allowed me learn what it really means for a neighborhood to be age-friendly and it really changed my perspective on certain neighborhoods. Little Italy, for instance, has always been one of my favorite places in San Diego and I always thought it would be cool to live there. But after our site visit, I realized that it is not very age-friendly. There were so many aspects of Little Italy that I had not noticed before. For example, the fact that there isn’t a single grocery store in the neighborhood really surprised me. One would have to go to the weekly farmers market or go out of Little Italy to do grocery shopping and that requires a lot of planning. There also isn’t a reliable transportation system within the neighborhood which covers a big area. I learned a lot about the history and age-friendliness of other neighborhoods in San Diego as well that day. Towards the end of class, we packed goodie bags with socks, lotions, lip balms, shampoos and soap for the seniors at Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center. All of us worked efficiently to pack over a hundred goodie bags. Senior Prom! On Saturday, we had the Gary and Mary West Center Senior Prom. It was such a great event! The atmosphere was very cheerful. We got there early to set up. I helped lay out the food and drinks and set the tables. We only had one hour for the prom so we were all very busy with different activities. When the dance began, I helped serve food and drinks. The event had a really good turnout and I think the seniors enjoyed a lot. One could tell that they really appreciated the prizes we were giving them. I remember seeing a woman just hugging the blanket she won for like fifteen seconds. Her face had lit up when she received the prize. Seeing her smile and joy really warmed my heart. I am really glad we gave out prizes and goodies that were so useful. One of the best moments of the dance was when the prom king and queen were crowned. I loved watching them dance together. They were so adorable. The seniors were really enthusiastic about the photo booth and games too. Overall, I think the dance was a big success and I am glad I could be a part of it. It was a very rewarding experience. I hope there are many more events like this for the seniors at Gary and Mary West Senior Center. Last week, we met for the last time this quarter. We had a potluck and everyone brought yummy food. We reflected on the quarter and talked about our main takeaways. This class was so meaningful for me for different reasons. I loved that we went on field trips every other week. I gained so much from them. The most impactful trip for me was the housing tour. I learnt so much about the housing situation in San Diego and the kind of problems seniors living in poverty had to deal with. I really enjoyed doing the oral history project as well. I learned a lot about my EP but hearing my friends talk about their EPs made me feel connected to them in a very special way. In this sense, this class has not only allowed me to learn more about people and places outside of UCSD but it has also made me feel more connected to my friends in UCSD. Towards the end of class, we divided into groups and discussed our Healthy Aging Projects (HAPs). I chose community gardening for my HAP because it is such a fun and interactive activity. I grew up seeing my mother and grandmother gardening, so I have always been interested in it. I am really looking forward to next quarter and working on our HAPs.
This week, we had more presentations. My group did a presentation on the book “This Chair Rocks” by Ashton Applewhite. The book was really eye-opening because I had never really thought about ageism and how prevalent it is in society. I realized how a lot of our actions are motivated by the desire to not appear “old” and the book made me think about my own attitude towards aging. The author emphasized that we are always aging and she emphasized that we should not be fearful of it because it is a natural process that is happening every second. I think the author did a wonderful job of debunking some of the myths surrounding aging and I would recommend this book to anyone as it raises awareness about ageist behavior. It is important to view aging positively. We also had our second round of oral history presentations, which was my favorite part of class. Ever memoir, from Wayne’s dream catchers to Victoria’s cookbook, was so touching. I loved learning about my classmates’ EPs. Their stories were so inspiring. The memoir presentations have made me realize that there are so many incredible lessons we can learn from seniors because everyone has lived such unique lives with different kinds of experiences. When I was interviewing my grandmother, I was amazed by how much I did not know about her. When I am back in India, I hope to continue with the memoir project because I truly enjoyed doing it and it is such a meaningful project.
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Jayati SharmaWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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