For our first project of LCS Spring Quarter, we did an extension of our initial Oral History Presentation from last quarter. For this second part, I decided to stick with my original extraordinary person, my paternal grandma, because I had learned so much about her outlook on life and heard stories I would’ve never thought to ask. I really wanted to find more questions to ask her and was excited about this prompt. It was an interesting experience because where in the first project I had to facetime her at super early hours because of my busy schedule + distance, this time around I still had to facetime interview her due to the safety precautions surrounding covid-19. Although the first part brought together my grandma and I emotionally, promoting a stronger bond between us, I have not been able to see her due to certain circumstances. Though I have not been able to actually hang out since being back home, being able to learn more about my grandma’s take on these life catastrophes was an opportunity I jumped on right away. In the beginning, it was confusing at first to see her hesitation on saying a response she thought others would expect her to say instead of saying her own response. It made me realize that, I don’t think we genuinely ask her how she’s doing often enough. Maybe she hadn’t really thought about her own feelings in regards to the pandemic and this was the first time she had been asked how she was coping. I was glad to be the one to start this conversation though. As we kept going through the questions, I felt a sense of familiarity where though I couldn’t be there physically like I was for at least one of my interviews with her last time, I still felt the moment when she allowed herself to be vulnerable. It’s so much harder to see her that way when we're looking at each other over a screen, but I found her strength truly admirable. The way she had shifted form speaking about her fear and how scary it had felt to live a nightmare in real life, to how it is a matter that we can only pray for the best on, was something that I took to heart. In the last project my grandma had opened up about her immigration story, followed with a tip to my siblings and I to not value materialistic items but to honor love and patience instead. I saw that same pattern in this where she talked about despite the protests and how scary our environment is, all we can do is listen and follow the safety measures, as well as be patient and kind to ourselves during this hard time. After reading and learning much from Leland’s Happiness Is A Choice You Make, I recognize that I had initially learned more from others in the aging population than from my own grandparents like Leland with his mom. I, now, repeatedly find myself being more grateful for my grandma not only being my caretaker and for loving me unconditionally, but for being vulnerable with me and for diving deep about the severity and fear of the sacrifices she made.
Even post-interview, we have been sending each other messages and today we talked about how God’s timing isn’t always the same as ours, but His timing is always better. In which she responded, “Cosas cambian en la vida, pero aprendemos a ser fuertes y a aceptar las circunstancias! Siempre agradeciendo a Dios por la oportunidad de estar vivo. Amén.” Things change in life, but we learn to be strong and accept circumstances! Always thanking God for the opportunity to be alive. Amen.
I forgot to screenshot selfies from our facetime calls, but below is my grandma in her homemade face masks from old pajamas she never wore and out messages from today.
Even post-interview, we have been sending each other messages and today we talked about how God’s timing isn’t always the same as ours, but His timing is always better. In which she responded, “Cosas cambian en la vida, pero aprendemos a ser fuertes y a aceptar las circunstancias! Siempre agradeciendo a Dios por la oportunidad de estar vivo. Amén.” Things change in life, but we learn to be strong and accept circumstances! Always thanking God for the opportunity to be alive. Amen.
I forgot to screenshot selfies from our facetime calls, but below is my grandma in her homemade face masks from old pajamas she never wore and out messages from today.