Hello dear reader, this blog is the first of three that I am writing for the Life Course Scholars Program. Reflecting on my initial thoughts about the course and my experience so far, there are nothing but positive emotions. Amongst all of my coursework, this has the most expansive experience and personal connection building. I think despite only having met three times this quarter so far, there has been so much depth to the growth in my character that I feel. In my perspective of the retreat, I really enjoyed the connection that I fostered with my peers, most of them also being in my major (we are a really small cohort of people with very little interconnectedness outside of coursework). I think I also loved the interaction between students, Professor Lewis, and our undergraduate instructional assistants – something that is hardly seen in other coursework.
This notion of community building is essential to the course as it is ingrained in the curriculum in subtle ways. During our trip to the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in Downtown San Diego, we were able to move freely and socialize with the elders in the cafeteria before lunch time happened. While there was a slight time constraint, I was immediately able to find community with some lovely Filipina women. First was Lana, who I initially communicated with through a series of intense staring and an itch to interact with her. Then it was she who broke the ice and asked if I was Filipina from across the table. That small acknowledgment was really heartening, and I moved over to hear her better since it was starting to get a lot louder as people filed in. We got into conversation related to something I associate with my cultural background, and she offered a handkerchief she got from a nearby church that she attends. Lana also shared how she and group of other women come to the Wellness Center after their mass ends for church. Incidentally, after I finished my conversation with her, I found the group of women that she came from church with and settled into a conversation with two of them – Guddie and Rosa. The conversation was much of the same and heavily focused on getting me to attend their church’s masses with my parents and/or grandparents. Amongst all of that, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that came from those interactions. I felt like a universal grandchild for the duration of our conversation.
On the other hand, I was struck with a really hard truth of our reality at the beginning of the trip. Before we began our tour of the wellness center, the director of the program, Paul, gave us a general overview of the problems that afflict the seniors in the San Diego community. A lot of feelings came up for me because it was a shift in perspective that altered a lot of my prior understandings of security for aging adults. It broke my heart, made me feel hopeless things, and largely made me angry at the current systems in place that are seemingly failing so many people nationwide. It boiled inside of me until we were able to go around and do the tour of the facility, then that burning inside of me slowly turned down when I got to see the interactions amongst the faculty and how much support that the facility was providing. I feel like this was a great opportunity for me to practice sitting with my feelings of discomfort and anger and understand the broader sphere of where I can potentially hop in and give my best in helping others – maybe as a career or as independent volunteer experience. Since this visit, it has been upheld as the highlight of my week multiple times in my interactions at work and with my peers. It has also been a topic of discussion with myself in my journal and what directions of life I am leaning towards. There is still much uncertainty, but this experience definitely cemented something within me.
With kindness and in community,
Kal Lising
This notion of community building is essential to the course as it is ingrained in the curriculum in subtle ways. During our trip to the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in Downtown San Diego, we were able to move freely and socialize with the elders in the cafeteria before lunch time happened. While there was a slight time constraint, I was immediately able to find community with some lovely Filipina women. First was Lana, who I initially communicated with through a series of intense staring and an itch to interact with her. Then it was she who broke the ice and asked if I was Filipina from across the table. That small acknowledgment was really heartening, and I moved over to hear her better since it was starting to get a lot louder as people filed in. We got into conversation related to something I associate with my cultural background, and she offered a handkerchief she got from a nearby church that she attends. Lana also shared how she and group of other women come to the Wellness Center after their mass ends for church. Incidentally, after I finished my conversation with her, I found the group of women that she came from church with and settled into a conversation with two of them – Guddie and Rosa. The conversation was much of the same and heavily focused on getting me to attend their church’s masses with my parents and/or grandparents. Amongst all of that, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that came from those interactions. I felt like a universal grandchild for the duration of our conversation.
On the other hand, I was struck with a really hard truth of our reality at the beginning of the trip. Before we began our tour of the wellness center, the director of the program, Paul, gave us a general overview of the problems that afflict the seniors in the San Diego community. A lot of feelings came up for me because it was a shift in perspective that altered a lot of my prior understandings of security for aging adults. It broke my heart, made me feel hopeless things, and largely made me angry at the current systems in place that are seemingly failing so many people nationwide. It boiled inside of me until we were able to go around and do the tour of the facility, then that burning inside of me slowly turned down when I got to see the interactions amongst the faculty and how much support that the facility was providing. I feel like this was a great opportunity for me to practice sitting with my feelings of discomfort and anger and understand the broader sphere of where I can potentially hop in and give my best in helping others – maybe as a career or as independent volunteer experience. Since this visit, it has been upheld as the highlight of my week multiple times in my interactions at work and with my peers. It has also been a topic of discussion with myself in my journal and what directions of life I am leaning towards. There is still much uncertainty, but this experience definitely cemented something within me.
With kindness and in community,
Kal Lising