Part One: Introduction
My name is Makia Lindsey, but I go by Kia. One thing I would like everyone to know about me is that I love concerts and traveling. I enjoy making memories, experiencing new places, and trying new things. I am also a nontraditional student and a mother of a 12-year-old daughter. Going to school while being a mom has taught me how to manage my time and stay focused on my goals, even when life gets busy.
My experience with older adults has mostly been personal. I have had older adults in my family and have interacted with older adults throughout my life. Professionally, I have not had a lot of experience working directly with older adults because most of my experience has been with children, teens, and families. I am interested in learning more about older adults because I know that aging can come with different physical, emotional, social, and financial challenges.
I hope to gain a better understanding of the aging process from this class. I want to learn more about the experiences of older adults and how social workers can support them. I also want to learn how to recognize my own assumptions about aging so that I can be more open-minded and respectful when working with older adults.
Part Two: The Meaning of Aging
1. My Understanding of Older Adulthood and Later Life
When I think about the terms “older adulthood” and “later life,” I think about a stage of life where a person has gained a lot of wisdom and life experience. I imagine someone who has already gone through many different stages of life, such as having a career, raising children, building relationships, and experiencing different challenges.
To me, older adulthood does not necessarily mean that someone stops enjoying life or trying new things. I think older adults can still travel, go to concerts, spend time with family and friends, work, volunteer, and do things they enjoy. When I hear the term “later life,” I imagine having more time to slow down and enjoy life after spending many years working and taking care of other responsibilities.
2. Thinking About Myself in Later Life
I would consider myself an older adult around the age of 65. When I picture myself at that age, I hope I am still healthy, active, retired, and enjoying life. I know that I will look older, but I hope I feel good about myself and accept the changes that come with getting older.
I hope my health will be good enough for me to remain independent and continue doing the things I enjoy. I understand that health problems can happen as people age, but I would like to take care of myself as much as possible.
I see myself spending a lot of my time traveling and enjoying life. Since I already love traveling and concerts, I would like to continue doing those things when I am older. I also hope to spend a lot of time with my family. By then, my daughter will be an adult, and I hope we will have a close relationship and enjoy life together.
I think what will bring me the most pleasure is being able to enjoy my family, travel, still enjoy concerts, experience new places, and have the freedom to do things that make me happy. I would also like to look back on my life and feel proud of the things I accomplished.
3. A Problem of Aging That I Fear
One problem of aging that I fear is losing my independence. I would not want to get to a point where I could not take care of myself or make my own decisions. Being independent is important to me, so depending on other people for everyday things would probably be difficult for me.
I am also concerned about health problems that could prevent me from traveling, going to concerts, or spending time with my family. I know that some health problems are a normal part of aging and cannot always be prevented. However, I hope that I can take care of myself and make healthy choices throughout my life.
Overall, this assignment made me think more about what aging will mean for me personally. I do not want to look at aging as only something negative. I think getting older can also mean gaining wisdom, having more life experiences, and having the opportunity to enjoy the things that are important to me. I hope that when I reach later life, I will be able to look back and feel proud of the life I lived while still being excited about the years ahead.
Hey Kia! Really enjoyed reading your post and getting to know more about you. I loved how you view older adulthood as a time when people can still try new things rather than only focusing on limitations. I also especially liked the comment you made about accepting the changes that come with getting older. I think that ability to accept transitions will be important not only in our own lives but also in aging practice. As social workers, we may help older adults face changes in their health, family roles, independence, and routines while recognizing their strengths.
Hi Kia! I really enjoyed reading your post. I love that you mentioned your love for concerts and traveling because I can definitely relate to wanting to continue doing the things you enjoy even as you get older. I think sometimes society makes it seem like getting older means you have to slow down and stop doing certain things, but I agree with you that older adulthood can still be a time to travel, make memories, and experience new things.
I also connected with what you said about losing your independence being one of your biggest fears. I think that is something that can be difficult to think about, especially when being able to take care of yourself and make your own decisions is such an important part of who you are. I also really liked how you talked about wanting to stay healthy so you can continue traveling, going to concerts, and spending time with your family. It made me think about how the choices we make now can affect the kind of life we are able to have later.
I think it’s really special that you are going through school while raising your daughter, too. You’re not only working toward your own goals, but also showing her what it looks like to keep pushing forward even when life gets busy. I hope when you reach 65, you really do get to look back and feel proud of everything you accomplished—and have plenty of concerts and trips still on your calendar! Haha 😊
Hello Kia! I had a great time reading your content. I appreciate how you see growing older as a stage of life where you may still travel, attend concerts, spend time with loved ones, and take in novel experiences. I absolutely agree that you don’t have to stop doing the things that bring you joy as you become older. It makes sense that you are afraid about losing your freedom, given how crucial it is to be able to make your own decisions. Fantastic post!
Hi Kia! It was great reading your introduction and learning more about you. I can definitely relate to what you said about aging not necessarily meaning that you have to stop enjoying life or trying new things. I really like that you see later life as an opportunity to travel, attend concerts, spend time with family, and enjoy the things that make you happy.
I also think it’s great that you recognize the importance of understanding our own assumptions about aging. As future social workers, being open-minded and respectful toward older adults is so important. Your experience as a mother and nontraditional student also shows how dedicated and focused you are. I wish you the best in this class, and I hope you get the knowledge and experience you’re looking for!
Kia,
I am glad this blog post got you thinking about your own aging! We often talk about the professional side, or the practice side, but we forget that our own perspective and feelings influence how we approach our clients. And even when you are working with children and families, they have older adults in their lives and in their families. Frequently, those older adults are a major part of how that family functions.
Your observation that aging isn’t synonymous with decline is central to what we will be discussing this semester. I hope the Cruikshank and the Aronson books will expand your thinking about how we approach aging in our culture.
Independence is a huge issue for all of us, I think. Cruikshank spends a lot of time discussing that, and I think you will gain some new perspectives from her first two chapters. And who knows, that 12-year-old daughter just may bring you more family and life and excitement in your older age than you can imagine.
I look forward to the conversations.
Just an FYI – if you look at the video on the blog, or read my latest email, I talk about how to upload your featured image. If you scroll down to the bottom on the right side of your post window, you will find “Set Featured Image.” I walk you through this in my video on using the blog. This information is about halfway through. You might find it helpful, and it will place your image right at the top of the blog post. Here is the link to the video: https://gastate.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/lessons/3694485/topics/77644115
Dr P