“Aging in America” was very eye-opening for me. Before watching it, I was not very aware that adults left their full-time, salaried jobs in order to care for older adults such as their parents. I also never thought about the level of responsibility that adults between the age of thirty-seven and fifty-five have caring for their children and their parents simultaneously. This aspect made me reflect upon my own parents. Both my mom and dad have lived with their respective mothers for my entire life. I think the fact that both of my grandmothers were able to utilize transportation to run errands and live rather independently made it easier for my parents to care for me, my sisters, and my grandmothers at the same time. One thing that I am grateful about is that with my ability to drive over the past few years, I have been able to help step in and assist my grandmother in her day-to-day tasks. I take her to the places that I grew up taking the bus with her to. I make sure that she’s able to make her doctor’s appointments, stop by the grocery store, and visit her community organization where she partakes in tai chi with her friends. It makes me really happy to know that I can do this for her as she gets older. Moreover, I truly appreciate the times that I am able to spend with her when I visit home, and I enjoy being able to make things just a little bit easier for her.
So far, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading Worlds of Difference because it provides insight into personal stories and experiences of individuals from a multitude of backgrounds. I find that I can relate to certain author’s experiences and that I learn more about historical events than I have ever come across in the classroom. There’s quite a difference between learning historical facts and hearing about one human’s personal life during specific time periods. One of the segments in “The World of Our Grandmothers” was especially striking to me because it reminded me of my grandmother. The passage discusses the idea that the author’s grandmother has quite a harsh face that has experienced rough times in comparison to how youthful she once appeared. After learning about the struggles her grandmother faced, the author is able to realize that her grandmother’s expression has been shaped in this manner due to the difficulties she has faced including the inability to enter a country and join her loved ones and being locked up as if she herself were a criminal. The detail that describes how the author’s mom would wave goodbye to her mother through the small cell window after visiting hours struck a chord in me. I could picture the pain in this moment and how heartbreaking it must be to be forced to wait before you could overcome unjust laws in order to reunite with your family. The description of her grandmother’s face reminds me of my own grandmother. My grandmother led her children, niece, and nephew through the Khmer Rouge, refugee camps, a foreign country, and to the United States to begin anew. Through this, she suffered the loss of two of her children and the life she always knew. There is a harsh quality to my grandmother, but it comes from a place of great strength. I find it comforting to hear that there is a similar quality in Connie Young Wu’s grandmother.
I’m looking forward to the different assignments for this quarter. Particularly, I’m excited to be able to have sit-down conversations with elders at various sites in order to get to know individuals on a more personal level. I enjoy being able to learn about elders’ lives and recognize their achievements as well as the different circumstances of living in an older generation. Additionally, I am eager to begin preparing for our Healthy Aging Project at the Bayside Community Center. We have come up with, “Art from the Heart” as our event name and hope to host it during week 6. So far, we have reached out to Rose, who is in charge of organizing senior-geared activities at Bayside. While waiting for Rose’s response to our event idea and hopes to set up a meeting with her, we are also reaching out to art supply companies such as Michaels and Blick in order to inquire if they have any discounted rates or if they would be willing to donate/lend supplies for our event. Moreover, we are also planning on reaching out to local painting instructors to see if one would be willing to lend their time to lead our activity or if one would be willing to offer us a cheaper rate. I really appreciate how our Healthy Aging Project offers a fun way for elders to come together and express themselves through art. The fact that we will have an instructor facilitating the activity also welcomes individuals who may feel as if art is not their forte. When I was younger, I would often turn to drawing as a way to relax during busy times and give myself some time to clear my mind and just focus on producing any image I wanted, despite not being a very good artist. I hope that this activity does the same for participants, along with providing them the opportunity to socialize with others.
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Monique SimArchives
June 2018
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