Our final tour to the Casa de Mañana retirement home was definitely a new experience – the housing itself felt very rich in history and care, and the residents we met seemed very lively and excited to see us. My group conversation with two of the ladies was very interesting and intellectual since they probed us for our future plans. I am still in the exploratory stage of my future career plans, so I found their questions difficult to answer clearly, but I loved that they wanted to get a sense of where everyone is at this point in our lives, compared to them (flight attendant and nursing life)! I also liked and felt inspired hearing my peer’s future plans, so this really was the most fun intergenerational ~exchange~ that I’ve had. Not only did I enjoy listening to their stories, but they too enjoyed listening to our stories, so it was a meaningful exchange experience. Being able to live right by the shore, in such a wonderful community and weather conditions is certainly a blessing. I really liked these two photos attached; the first one shows the beautiful homes and the sky, and the second one shows an example of the lovely scenery, shells, only one street away. If I were to sum up the lessons that I’ve learned in this class in a few phrases, I would say that life really is too short to not live in the present and that there are so many stories to be told; the conversations just need to move forward. As for healthy aging, I don’t think that there’s one specific way to age since there are multiple factors affecting one’s life course. Even so, a few things that can help create a successful aging process includes deconstructing ageist attitudes, and surrounding oneself with a supportive community. Leland’s Happiness is a Choice You Make is a book I think I’ll hold onto dearly for a long time. To smile and laugh more, worry less about things that cannot be helped, study hard purposefully, initiate conversations, look up, hug people more… these are just some of the things that I’m going to try to do more often now that I am more cognizant of my limited days in this life course. Something like taking care of my parents and loved ones and showing them in both words and actions are important to show them that I care. When I was younger, I had the luxury of spending time with them in the car and listen to them talk about life, but now that I’ve grown older and able to drive myself places, conversations are minimal and kept to when I'm home (which is often late, when they’re ready for bed). Being aware of this change in tempo feels nostalgic, but I can always just strike up a conversation with them; it’s not like there are significant barriers to our communication. I hope that I really do take into account that this is a lifelong learning process, and I can always take it one step at a time.
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Shina Luu Shina Luu is a General Biology and Global Health double major from Escondido, CA. She Archives
March 2022
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