Leah Powell shares that listening to the thoughts of the elderly is:
"...when you acknowledge an elderly person who may or may not have a good life, you learn lessons about the years over time that they spent here on earth.
Someone else shares:
"...when you acknowledge an elderly person, the information provided is a gateway into the centuries of living gone by and the joy of passing things on to younger generations become comparisons of modern day where personal stories come alive."
Leah Powell continues:
"...when you don't acknowledge an elderly person, especially your own, you have eyes but you do not see."
Use this platform to share the stories learned when you interviewed your special Senior at the Daughters of Jacob Nursing Home on Thursday, May 19th. Craft your blog piece like you are telling a story about the significant events over the course of the person's life. Include dates, places, names, and be as specific as possible.
At a wonderful and magical nursing home we have gained insite on the lives of those who have lived before us. I got the opportunity to talk to a wonderful Chinese American named David. At first he was a little shy but once me and my partner Blessing created a confertable envirment by telling him about our lives and showing him pictures of our pets, he started sharing some great information with Blessing and I. He started off with his love of books when I then shared that we had something in common. He then expressed the importance of school and to not play "hooky"(to not skip school). David was very inspirational and I hope to see him again. Whoever did not come on this journey does not see the beauty of the elderly's mind's and souls. What a shame of our young and hungry mind's.
ReplyDeleteIt was great having to meet the elders. Leah and myself got to meet a Chinese American guy named David, as she said before. Yes, he was pretty shy, so we decided to introduce ourselves. We started off by saying our names, saying a few things about ourselves, hobbies, routines, and we even showed pictures. Honestly, I was actually shy and nervous to talk to the elder. But, when you have a great conversation, you start to feel a bit more happy, and comfortable. I actually learned that the elders are really nice, and have very good life lessons to share. David does say that his favorite hobby was reading, and he always wanted to be a traveler. Did he reach his goals? Yes he did! He traveled to all parts of the world. Which is why he says not to skip school, and always follow your goal. David also loves animals! He says to never abuse animals because they have a life and they have feelings too. I learned a lot of life lessons from this man, and I really enjoyed this trip.
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ReplyDeleteBy:Juan Lopez
My name is Juan Lopez and I interviewed Adaline Torrez. When I asked her what I could call her she said I could call her Adi. To Adaline a proverb/quote that means a lot to her is “Hanging in there” and or “Respect and be kind to one another”. Adaline has experienced 5 decades and she is 53 years old. Adaline has four children, she has lost two sisters, she has 1 sister left, and she has many nephews and niece. As a child she wanted to either be a teacher or a business owner. She said she wanted to help children if she was a teacher. Since she was a teenager something she has notice is that people have a lack of respect for each other. The person who influenced her the most was her mother. Her mother’s name was Sarah and her believe and kindness inspired Adaline to continue. She has found that the computer is the most useful technology because of all of it’s resources yet it is the most annoying because she still needs to learn how to use it. The happiest moment of her life was having her #1 daughter and graduating from school elementary, middle school, etc…. She is most proud of having her children she said they are really good kids. She did receive an allowance which was a dollar a day. With the money she earned she spent it on food because she did not eat school food. Her friends were her siblings, and school mate. One of her favorite thing to do for fun was play sport; hand ball, volley ball, etc…. Adeline loved school, she got good grades and her best subject was reading and writing and her worst subject was Science because she didn’t really understand it. Adeline participated in most of the sports of her school and she was the captain for each team. She came out in the newspaper for all of her hard work. She was the Domino Champion, and she won the Met’s Magic Award. She also won her class, school, borough, city Spelling Bee and she came out 14th place at Washington D.C. meaning she was the 14th best speller in the United States for teens. She was on people’s court. One of her fads/hairstyle/clothes was Dorothy Hamill’s hairstyle, her favorite pants were wrangler pants. To her the events that had the most impact on her was poverty, and children separating from elderly. She would love to be remembered for her love and Kindness.
Adeline has felt like one of the most important lessons the she has learned over the course of her life is to give back anytime you can no matter what. She had some difficult/stressful experience that she learned from which was being born sick and her mom helped her overcome that and she couldn’t help herself at the beginning.And because of her mom’s help she learned to never give up, to make her a strong person individually, accepting herself, and making impact on the world. As she looked over her life she saw a turning point which was when her father passed away and being on a nursing home because she never thought she would be at the nursing home at age 53 or at any age. Some important choices/decisions she has made that she has learned from are to always be patient and understanding, some people don’t have patience and because she had patience she never had a fight in her life. She said something that she knew to have a happy and successful life that she did not know at 20 was that respect is big to everyone specially her, and understanding makes a happier life. And Lastly she said that one of the major principles she live by is choosing to have children, going to college, and overcoming dialysis.
Overall, my interview with Adeline Torrez was very successful I feel like the interview could have not gotten any better. As a first experience and a interviewee I felt a lot of connections between Adeline and I. And I just want to thank her for the great interview and making it go so well and making me feel so happy after prior event that got me upset/angry. By the way she is a tutor and she has helped many people in her life.
Thanks To: Adaline Torrez
Sincerely: Juan Lopez