Our visit to the Bayside Community Center was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. It was absolutely heartwarming to be able to boogie down with not only my friends, but some really fierce and great dancers from the later population. Intergenerational Zumba is an experience I believe everyone should experience. Moving your body, forgetting that you’re exercising, while laughing me being fully immersed in the moment of jamming out to wonderful, iconic songs, is a 10/10 experience. The energy in the room was so forgiving and empowering and I’m so glad I was lucky enough to be part of this atmosphere. This was my first time doing Zumba besides me wanting to do it for yearsssss, I’m happy to have pushed it off to share this first-timer moment with this crowd.
After dancing my heart away and breaking a sweat, I was introduced to this absolutely wonderful lady, who was quite interesting. She was born and raised in San Diego and met her now-husband during his last year of university. He is English so when she graduated, she moved back with him and got married in London. She now spends four months in San Diego a year to visit family and her daughter and grandchildren, and spends the other eight months in London where her other daughter stays. She said that this Zumba class is a must-go when she’s in San Diego and expressed so much gratitude for the community and instructor of the program. I was so happy to see the love in this space. She also cheered me on in studying neuroscience and healthy aging and asked questions about my studies. She then shared that her parents developed dementia and how that impacted her family. She emphasized how important it is to find a cure and support individuals with dementia in the Latinx community. She ended our conversation by saying she hopes I find my way into the Latinx research community and help find a cure to a devastating disease.
After dancing my heart away and breaking a sweat, I was introduced to this absolutely wonderful lady, who was quite interesting. She was born and raised in San Diego and met her now-husband during his last year of university. He is English so when she graduated, she moved back with him and got married in London. She now spends four months in San Diego a year to visit family and her daughter and grandchildren, and spends the other eight months in London where her other daughter stays. She said that this Zumba class is a must-go when she’s in San Diego and expressed so much gratitude for the community and instructor of the program. I was so happy to see the love in this space. She also cheered me on in studying neuroscience and healthy aging and asked questions about my studies. She then shared that her parents developed dementia and how that impacted her family. She emphasized how important it is to find a cure and support individuals with dementia in the Latinx community. She ended our conversation by saying she hopes I find my way into the Latinx research community and help find a cure to a devastating disease.