Part One :
Hey everyone my name is Samarie! I am 28 years old. One thing I would like you to know about me is that I am passionate about helping others and advocating for people who may not always be able to advocate for themselves. I also enjoy learning about different populations and understanding how social, economic, and healthcare systems impact people’s lives.
I have both personal and professional experience working with older adults. Personally, I have older family members who have allowed me to see the importance of patience, compassion, and being present as people age. Professionally, I have experience working in a nursing home setting, where I interact with older adults and assist with coordinating care and addressing their needs. This experience has helped me better understand the challenges older adults may face, including changes in their independence, health, mobility, and social support. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the aging process and social work practices, policies, and research that affect older adults. I want to learn more about the challenges older adults face and how social workers can effectively advocate for them.
Part Two:
- I view growing older as a normal stage of life that brings with it new experiences, wisdom, and personal development. When I hear these words, I see a person who is content with life, traveling, spending time with loved ones, and engaging in activities they enjoy while adapting to the changes that come with growing older.
- Around age 65, I feel like I will start to think of myself as an older adult. I want to be independent, content, and in good health. I picture myself traveling, reading, having fun, and spending time with loved ones. I want to continue being active and engaging in activities that make me happy and feel purposeful.
- Losing my independence is one thing I worry about as I get older. I wouldn’t want to be totally dependent on other people or incapable of making my own choices. I want to live life on my terms for as long as possible, therefore maintaining my independence and health is vital to me.
Hello Samarie! I enjoyed reading your post, especially what you said about wanting to maintain your independence as you get older. I can definitely understand that because being able to make your own choices and live life on your own terms is important. I also liked how you looked at aging as a time for new experiences, traveling, spending time with family, and enjoying life instead of only focusing on the challenges. Since you have experience working with older adults, what is one thing you have learned from them that has changed the way you view aging?
Hi Samarie! It was great learning more about you and your passion for helping and advocating for others. I really enjoyed reading about your experience working in a nursing home because I think that gives you a unique perspective on the challenges older adults face. Your point about patience, compassion, and being present really stood out to me because those qualities are so important when supporting older adults.
I also agree with you about wanting to maintain independence as we get older. I think being able to make our own choices and continue doing the things that bring us happiness is an important part of having a good quality of life. I like how you view aging as a normal stage of life that can bring wisdom, new experiences, and personal growth. I’m looking forward to learning more about aging and how we, as future social workers, can advocate for and support older adults.
Samarie,
Nice photo. I would love that park bench. I really enjoyed the first part of your post. Because you have been working in nursing home care, you have seen the impact of resources and support systems (and lack thereof) on older adults with physical challenges. We will spend some time talking about how aging in our culture is a very different experience depending on the size of your village and your bank account.
I would have loved to have you expand a bit on your vision of your own aging. As you write this next post, think a bit more about how you see yourself – both in terms of the best possible scenario and the one you fear the most. That will help you talk about what you would need to prepare for that particular view of aging.
Independence is critical for most of us. But Cruikshank will challenge what we really mean by that. Think a bit about what that looks like for you and what kinds of things would restrict your independence. I look forward to the conversations.
Dr P