Good day class!!

Introduction

My name is Eleasha Davis and my pronouns are she/her. I am an Advanced Standing MSW student and currently on track to graduate in May of 2026. My favorite thing to tell people about myself is that I have been Vegan for 10 years because I feel very accomplished about that!

My personal and professional experience with older adults comes through some of my grandparents. My Nana (mom’s mom) encouraged me to get my CNA license when I was a senior in high school because I was struggling with where my life was headed. I discovered that I enjoyed working in nursing homes and it led to me attempting to get my Bachelors in Nursing. Unfortunately the school work was not something that I was drawn to, so I pivoted to Social Work after being influenced by another classmate having my same experience. I did not really know much about Social Work, but I knew that I could still be of assistance to the elderly. My Granddaddy and Grandmommy (dad’s parents) would ask me for help with their government assistance every once and a while when I visited them, and during my classes, I realized that i was essentially doing Social Work! Having that epiphany made me realize that I was meant to be a Social Worker.

In this class, I hope to be able to learn strategies that would allow me to build relationships and trustworthiness with older clients to be able to make lasting change in their lives for the better. I believe that the elderly are a one of the most neglected populations and it would be fulfilling to me to be able to help them as much as I can with the information I learn this semester and throughout my continued education.

The Meaning of Aging

1.) Currently, I am 28, so “older adulthood” and “later life” at this time means ‘elderly’ to me. For example, “adulthood” is just that, but specifically “older adulthood” makes me imagine someone with grey hair and aged skin. Not that someone younger than elderly cannot have those things, but it still makes me think of someone much much older. I think the same way about “later life” as I imagine someone “later [in] life”; elderly.

2.) The age I would consider myself when I am officially an “older adult” would be 60 to 70 years old. I feel as though those are the ages of a person who has officially become elderly. I also believe that being elderly is a time and not necessarily a feeling. When that time comes for me, I hope to look and feel similarly as I do now. So long as I continue to be active mentally and physically, I can have an independent older adulthood. I would still spend my time running, cycling, and roller blading. I also enjoy “old people” activities like crochet and puzzling, so I would actually look like I should be doing those things by then. I also came to the realization that community building takes more effort than I am giving it, so I would hope to be spending my time with that also. I take pleasure in my hobbies and connecting with my village. As we get older, we need those things more than we realize and I would find it very rewarding to be able to see the fruits of my labor when I end up passing the torch from the work I have built from my youth.

3.) As we get older, no matter how healthy we are, healing is not always guaranteed to get us back to where we originally were, or even close. So the greatest “problem of aging” I fear is a fall that causes a spinal injury and makes me lose my independence. This situation is most concerning to me because even if what occurred is not my fault, I would still have to live with it. It would be unfair to me for all my hard work to be for nothing, but it does not stop me from doing my best.

4.) Attached is a picture of my Nana at her most recent birthday. The “meaning of aging” to me is to celebrate getting older and enjoying it with people around you. Celebrating your life does not have to always be on a birthday, because everyday is special and a reason to celebrate!