As strange as this may sound, I feel like a grub. A grub that has long lay dormant in the deep darkness of good, fertile soil and now that the sun has risen and the flowers are blooming, it, too, is my turn to emerge from the dregs of winter.
At face-value, I’m talking about the transition from Winter to Spring Quarter. Poetically, I’m referring to my growth not only as a Life Course Scholar, but also as a student of Urban Planning and the world. From learning about all the technicalities of community planning, the wider world and its messy social implications, and the interaction between differing individuals and collective cultures, I feel like I am better equipped with the tools (and the knowledge) that will (finally!) help me give back to the society that has nourished me thus far. I’ve taken enough classes and read enough material to the point where it has become repetitive—to the point where I finally understand how to wield the knowledge I have been blessed with.
This, of course, has culminated into my fervor for creating big (sometimes too big) projects/ideas. Although I will probably bash myself for giving myself too much work, I am primed with an overflow of energy at this very moment. However, I am using this quarter as a test for myself—despite all the hurried neurons that fired through my brain, I know my ideas will be useless to the community if it’s not what they want. As I once heard, "Planners are good at talking but sometimes, they're not as good at listening."
I’m extremely grateful to Nina for allowing me to hop on-board her project, expand it, and alter it a little here and there. I also appreciate the team of five who have joined me and patiently bore my effervescent energy and scattered thoughts as I jumped from one project idea to the next and the next. Whether if we decide to quantify our observations, expand sensory gardens, plan out a multi-generational pop-up site, or all of them, I hope we are able to create a meaningful project(s) that adds some “oomph” to the existing literature on the aging experience.
At face-value, I’m talking about the transition from Winter to Spring Quarter. Poetically, I’m referring to my growth not only as a Life Course Scholar, but also as a student of Urban Planning and the world. From learning about all the technicalities of community planning, the wider world and its messy social implications, and the interaction between differing individuals and collective cultures, I feel like I am better equipped with the tools (and the knowledge) that will (finally!) help me give back to the society that has nourished me thus far. I’ve taken enough classes and read enough material to the point where it has become repetitive—to the point where I finally understand how to wield the knowledge I have been blessed with.
This, of course, has culminated into my fervor for creating big (sometimes too big) projects/ideas. Although I will probably bash myself for giving myself too much work, I am primed with an overflow of energy at this very moment. However, I am using this quarter as a test for myself—despite all the hurried neurons that fired through my brain, I know my ideas will be useless to the community if it’s not what they want. As I once heard, "Planners are good at talking but sometimes, they're not as good at listening."
I’m extremely grateful to Nina for allowing me to hop on-board her project, expand it, and alter it a little here and there. I also appreciate the team of five who have joined me and patiently bore my effervescent energy and scattered thoughts as I jumped from one project idea to the next and the next. Whether if we decide to quantify our observations, expand sensory gardens, plan out a multi-generational pop-up site, or all of them, I hope we are able to create a meaningful project(s) that adds some “oomph” to the existing literature on the aging experience.