The class session for Week 8 was only about an hour long. We just checked in to make sure we were ready for the dance at Casa de Manana on Saturday, and spoke about our NAPs and HAPs. I was a bit confused about the NAPs because there weren’t clear instructions on what we should do, but since examples of past projects were posted, I have a better idea of what to do for my own project now. My group has visited our area twice and we feel comfortable enough to start working on the presentation now. We hope that we can use the online resources to help us find things that we couldn’t see for ourselves. For my own HAP for next quarter, I am planning to work with Jessica and John at a dementia center and form a choir there. We started to talk about our plans at the end of class. John will email dementia centers around here, and from there we can choose where we want to go. Since we have a small budget to use, we were planning on buying music books so that I don’t have to write music myself for the choir. I’m not exactly sure about how our project will work though, for example how often would we go to the center, would they have a performance at the end of the quarter, or should we just sing to sing. As we continue we the project, I will find the answer to these questions later.
During yesterday’s class session, my group presented our book, This Chair Rocks. Though the book was very eye opening and had lots of information and evidence, I felt that some of its claims were a bit far-fetched. For example, one argument that the author makes is that being anti-aging means to be anti-living and thus also anti-breathing. I understood the correlation between these words, but I felt that the author was making the issues of anti-aging to generalized. But other than that, the book helped me be more conscious of my actions and the things that I say when it comes to age. At the end of class, the other half of the class presented their Oral History Project, and each one was very touching. It was shocking to see that almost every single EP has endured such difficult hardships. Usually, people don’t think that it is normal for others to experience such rough obstacles in life, but all of the EPs faced these difficulties and came out on top. It was inspiring to see how each EP handled their situation and learn from that experience. It was also really adorable to see how touched Trish felt after witnessing everyone’s projects. She seemed really happy and impressed with what she saw, and I can only imagine how fulfilled she felt seeing people read her book and then implementing its ideas on their own. After the presentations, I was reminded of how much I love my family and the whole time I just wanted to call my mom to make sure her and the rest of my family were okay.
Today we visited Bayside Community Center and the executive director was another very inspiring man. When he first received the job, the center was bankrupt. He did not know what to do because firstly he was new, and he knew how much the center meant to the people, but he had no money to fund it. Then suddenly, a real estate agent came and offered to buy his property in order to build a school, which lined up perfectly with the mission of the community center. The way in which he spoke was so genuine and inspiring, and you could really tell that he loved his community. Afterwards, we participated in a Zumba class with the other seniors who were there. The class was really fun and I expected it to be minimal movement, but we were all sweating. At the end of the class, one of the seniors came up to me and told me that I was a good dancer. She said that she was watching me and that I “really knew how to move my feet”. She also said that I should be a Zumba instructor someday which I found to be really cute. The seniors there were very active, lively, and so kind. In the future, I want to go back and either volunteer or visit that center because its mission and values struck a chord with me. I want to be able to help out there because I like to work with children and the elderly.
In yesterday’s class session, the first book group shared their presentation and it was interesting to see how they critiqued the book even though it was a best seller. I felt that they took a lot of time to delve into the book and truly analyze it for what it was. We also got into our committees for the senior dances, and I am in the activities committee. We plan to bring in either the Ballroom Dance Club or Swing Dance Club to do a performance and maybe teach a small section of a simple song, or do line dancing with us teaching the moves instead. After that, we then met up in our groups for the NAP’s. My group was having a difficult time figuring out a time to go to the neighborhood, since I am going home this weekend and Jackie is going home the weekend after. The weekdays do not work either, but we decided to go two separate times to accommodate for whoever cannot make the other time. Those who did not present the book presented their oral history projects, and it was eye-opening to see how every EP lived such intense lives with stories that taught life lessons. At the end of class, two representatives from the new student organization Get a Cane presented to us. I loved the idea of what they do and I thought it was extremely thoughtful for them to give medical devices to those in need. They inspired me to try to do more to give back to the community.
Going to Casa de Manana was a different kind of eye opening experience. The retirement home did not look like one at all, it was a beautiful resort with a wide ocean view and great amenities for all the residents. Payment though was clearly much more than most elderly could afford. I felt like even if I were at that age I would not have been able to afford it. Though it was clear that the residents there were more privileged than most elderly, the senior that I spoke to was one of the most inspirational women I’ve ever met. Her name was Alice and she was 98 years old, but she did not look like it at all. She had stopped playing tennis only 2 years ago, because she was injured, which also amazed me. She explained to us the importance of fitness, knowing about our history, and taking control of our lives. She said that even though she was old, her life was not over. She said that she wasn’t like those elderly who weren’t present after a certain period of time. It was also interesting to learn that she went to the recent women’s march and inspired other elderly residents to go with her as well. Alice made me feel very hopeful for the future and inspired me to continue to move forward with my future. I would love to go back to Casa de Manana and speak to other residents as well because I’m sure each one of them has their own unique story and way of inspiring the younger generation.
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Micah BanawisArchives
June 2018
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