We spent an hour discussing the experiences of going to the LGBT community center. All scholars stated that they enjoyed going there, and they would like to go back again to foster a stronger relationship with the members of the LGBT community center. It sounded like going to the LGBT community center was a unique and memorable event. Rather than just going once for an entire year, it would be better for students to go back and visit more frequently just like what we did for Casa De Manana. When Chase was sharing his experiences of interacting with a lady from LGBT center, it was unfortunate to hear that she had faced many obstacles and miseries in her life. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to receive support from their family members and friends. The lady that Chase talked to did not have any support throughout her life. We have been to Bayside community center, Gary and Mary Senior Center, and Cada De Manana. When we asked what they think about their neighborhood, we often heard about positive feedbacks regarding their local community, and they love living there. However, we often neglect that there are people who have been very lost and forgotten from the beginning. Sometimes, what we could do is sit down and listen to their experiences. The best thing we can do is to let them know that their voices matter and many people are willing to help them and listen to their concerns, and this small action might make them feel welcomed and warm instead of thinking negatively about this world.
It was unfortunate that I was not able to go to the LGBT community center this week because of my class conflicted with the schedule. I am sure it is an exciting and rewarding experience of going to LGBT community center and having the opportunity to interact with elderly people in the center. After looking at the pictures that were taken this week, it seems like a very engaging activity which people work collaboratively to contribute their ideas of what they want to see in an age-friendly city. LGBT seniors are more likely to be isolated and loss support from their families. Being able to interact with seniors allows Life Course Scholars to see the situation in a new perspective and also learn from elders at the same time.
As for our HAP project, we applied for AARP scholarship and submitted it on Wednesday morning. The application process was very time-consuming and challenging to us when we were filling it out. However, we still made it through as a team. Hopefully, we can get the scholarship, which will increase our budget for our HAP project. The decision will be released on June 25th, and they can decide how much they want to reward to the applicant. We will also be working on our HAP poster that is due in a few weeks. Time does go by very fast, and it is almost the end of the quarter. We can't wait to see the Healthy Aging Symposium that is coming up in three weeks. We had Professor Peerson came over and gave us an excellent lecture about formatting our HAP project. She pointed out many mistakes that people often made when doing their projects, and she wanted us to arrange the board in a way that would capture people’s attention. The lecture was helpful by offering suggestions for us that we could take into consideration. Now, we know what to avoid and what to put on our project to make it stand out more and also interesting to read at the same time. Because there were only four HAP projects this year, both professors recommended us to create posters for NAP project as well. All of us could split up the work instead of many people working on only one poster because it would be very chaotic if all 6 of us were working on the same poster without using Google Slide.
Because our group plans the event on next Fall Quarter, we do not have any picture to put on the poster. It is also very unprofessional to put some clip arts on the poster. Therefore, we could use GIS data that we will make and photos of the location as evidence to make the poster more interesting to read. In addition to that, I am thinking about drawing some images to put on the poster if anyone of us is good at drawing. Because our group plans the event on next Fall Quarter, we do not have any picture to put on the poster. It is also very unprofessional to put some clip arts on the poster. Therefore, we could use GIS data that we will make and photos of the location as evidence to make the poster more interesting to read. In addition to that, I am thinking about drawing some images to put on the poster if anyone of us is good at drawing. The book discussion this week was very engaging as many students share their ideas and concerns. It reminded me a workshop that I had attended, which was called Cross Culture Communication. I learned about “I” statement that we should use throughout the conversation and always understand that what I think does not mean that other people will think in the same way. Therefore, using I would not generalize my statement to everyone and also respect other individuals' cultures. It is better to use "they" to bring everyone together and not to leave out anyone when giving a presentation. This is our second time visiting Bayside Community center, and the experience of going is very meaningful and enjoyable. Zumba continues to be an intense exercise for me even after a quarter. Because our group is working on our video for the project, we were planning to film Zumba as well as interviewing some elders. After meeting Jackie, she is a lovely and strong individual who is willing to help us to act out some of the scenes. Words cannot express how much we appreciate her help. We are all amazed to learn that she is already 76. Now I understand, when we stop worrying about aging, aging is no longer our enemy. Rather than running away from getting old, one should embrace the beauty of the natural process of the life cycle. She has a very active life and always comes to Zumba. In addition to that, she also has her own style of living, and we can tell that she is delighted with her life. We also had opportunities to interact with other elders when we are discussing about how to build an age-friendly environment. Food was delicious. It was interesting to hear that different nursing schools and college programs come to the community center and educate elders about the health promotion and elder abuse. Elders shares their ideas of having more intergenerational activities in which close the bridge between the older adults and the younger generation. It was nice to have opportunities to sit down and share each other’s opinions.
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Ruoyi NiArchives
June 2018
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