Amid the trepidation of the latest COVID-19 surge and return to online learning, it has been delightful to engage with the other members of the cohort, our TAs, Dr. Lewis, and our guest speakers. I particularly enjoy discussing the week’s readings in our small group breakout rooms. I love to hear everyone’s discussion questions– it is always interesting to find out what parts of the text stand out to different people. My favorite reading so far is “Happiness Is a Choice You Make”. I love how author John Leland integrates his own lived experience with anecdotes of his six elders. In the last three weeks I have expanded and refined my understanding of the life course perspective, and some of the factors that impact the aging experience. Particularly impactful was the presentation by Elisa Barnett and Jason Cuneo from the LGBT+ Community Center at North Park Senior Apartments. Elisa and Jason shared so much insightful information about the services the center provides, as well as some touching stories of the experiences LGBT+ seniors face. During the presentation I realized that many of the practices I associate with allyship and inclusivity are oriented to create safe spaces for specifically younger members of the LGBTQ+ community. Elisa and Jason provided examples that helped me to understand how small gestures (wearing pride pins, listing your pronouns, etc.) are especially significant to seniors in the community given their intersectional identities and arguably more complex experiences. Being able to engage with these concepts “face-to-face” has made the start of the course feel so inviting and effortless. I’m very excited for the upcoming weeks!
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Tiffany Nakajima Tiffany Nakajima is a Public Health major with a concentration in Epidemiology and with a minor in Archives
March 2022
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