I was manning the photo booth with Jackson, and also set up a calming station (which nobody really used, but oh well.) When we were setting up the props I was worried people would be nervous or hesitant to have their photo taken, but the seniors’ reactions were the opposite; a lot of people got photos, whether it be solo or with their partner/family/friends. The variety in the crowd was great, some people wanted to be serious and others were playful with their poses. Jackson took polaroids and I took digital photos. I felt extremely excited but also honored that people would trust me to take their picture—even if it wasn’t going to be published anywhere, I feel having your photo taken is somewhat intimate/vulnerable, so it was sweet that most of the seniors were open and shared my enthusiasm. Something I didn’t expect was when people tried to take the photo booth props home with them. This caused me to be sympathetic as I realized these residents likely didn’t have many material items, and having something to remember the event by would be important.
Furthermore, a lady asked me to help her with her iphone. I showed her how to change the name and photo of her contacts, and she screenshotted every step to reference in the future. I felt really grateful my advice could be useful, and I also realized how unintuitive technology can be for someone who’s first language isn’t english. Further, I played cornhole and got (steadily) better as the event went on. Hearing the residents cheer me on, and reciprocating when they decided to play, was one of my favorite memories from the event. It felt like an inner child moment when everyone’s rooting for you at something small. I think the raffle stuck with me a lot. I noticed people got frustrated with how it was being handled, as well as really excited when they did win something (gift card, water bottle, backpack, etc). I remember wanting everybody to walk away with something, even though that’s against the nature of a raffle, and really not knowing what to say when a resident’s number wasn’t called. I wanted to comfort them, but didn’t want to sound distant or awkward. The raffle was a good experience for me to sit in discomfort or uncertainty with myself.