1) Introductions
My name is Niya, and I am currently finishing the MSW Program and graduating this May! 🙂 One thing that I personally enjoy sharing about myself is that I have a fur baby, my mini golden doodle named Breez. I currently work for the VA as a Transitional Housing Program Manager for individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, and unemployment. In my position, I primarily work with older adults. As of late, the majority of participants in the program have been over the age of 60. I have learned from this experience that patience goes a long way and it is important to meet people where they are. My grandparents are very close to me, and I genuinely enjoy spending time with them and interpreting the wisdom they share.
2) The Meaning of Aging
For me, the concept of “older adulthood” or “later life” brings to mind exciting possibilities for living life to the fullest, and accomplishing and trying all the things I haven’t gotten to do thus far. On the other hand, thinking of getting older can scare me and sadden me at times, particularly if I am thinking about my grandparents. It forces me to realize that not only am I getting older, so are they.
I personally consider older adulthood to start around age 65. When I see myself at that point, I plan to look beautiful and vibrant. I want to continue the same workout and eating routines so that I feel healthy and strong. I want to spend nearly all of my time with family and friends, traveling, and enjoying the things I have worked so hard for. The thing that would give me the most satisfaction is spending that time together with family and seeing everyone in one place.
That being said, I recognize that aging means complications. My most feared complication of aging is dying and/or becoming sick, particularly if it causes my family to worry about me. I also fear the changes of my body and my inability to do things that I used to do the same way. While I know we all die, I know I will still feel sad when I think about not being. Not knowing when and how I will be gone from this world frightens me. Something I am looking to learn in this class is how to better help and advocate for elder adults. I have interest in hospice, medical, and travel social work and I feel like this would be great for dealing with that line of work.
Hi Niya, I resonated with many of the details from your post. You mentioning that you would like, when you are an older adult, for all your family and friends to live in one place, that was really special. I did not realize the way that this is important to me until recently. My Mom has always said that she wants my syblings and I and our family at large to stay close. I only considered that she was meaning in relationship, like calling one another and staying connected to each others lives. I am realizing more and more the double meaning that it has. The proximity piece is huge. I wish my family members lived closer together. I would be cool with even 100 miles away for the furthest family members. But, the fact that I need to fly to spend time with some of my loved ones is disappointing. I didn’t mention this desire in my post because it had not come to mind, but it definitely is big deal for me as well.
Hi Niya, I resonated with many of the details from your post. You mentioning that you would like, when you are an older adult, for all your family and friends to live in one place, that was really special. I did not realize the way that this is important to me until recently. My Mom has always said that she wants my siblings and I and our family at large to stay close. I only considered that she was meaning in relationship, like calling one another and staying connected to each others lives. I am realizing more and more the double meaning that it has. The proximity piece is huge. I wish my family members lived closer together. I would be cool with even 100 miles away for the furthest family members. But, the fact that I need to fly to spend time with some of my loved ones is disappointing. I didn’t mention this desire in my post because it had not come to mind, but it definitely is big deal for me as well.
Niya,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We all appreciate it. Hello to Breez from my fur baby Sunny. I know how much they mean. I know that your work as a Transitional Housing Manager with the VA is NOT easy. It is difficult to meet people where they are when everything you are supposed to do is to get them somewhere else. Thank you for that work.
I understand the fear of losing the people we love because all of us age. And you are not alone in your fear of dying – or even talking about dying, right? There are lots of your classmates who share that fear, particularly if you haven’t had much personal experience with death,. It is my hope that we will have a final podcast talking about death to try and move us past the fear and into some of the other parts about death. Not easy conversations, and we all need to have them with the people we love.
I think you will enjoy the texts and the podcasts in this class, as you develop more skills to advocate for older adults. I look forward to many more ocnversations.
Dr P