In my senior year of high school, I decided to face one of my biggest fears. At around the age of seven after visiting a convalescent home, I developed this fear and was afraid of elderly people ever since. In order to overcome this, I decided that I would get an internship working at a convalescent nursing home in my hometown. Before I began my internship, I prepared myself mentally to deal with grumpy old people who hated everyone and everything. After my first day though, I knew that the experience was going to change my life forever.
On my first day, I walked into the facility expecting the absolute worst. I was prepared for older adults who were so combative and so hostile that I would be forced to quit my internship. However, I quickly found out that older adults weren’t as bad as I thought, and I soon realized that they would turn out to be some of the sweetest, most influential people I had ever met.
As I continued interning, I got the chance to interact with some of the patients and also got to know them a bit more. A lot of them either had family that did not visit or didn’t have any family at all so when I did stop by to talk to them, they appreciated every minute of company. I met with veterans, business owners and housewives that were willing to share their wisdom and words of encouragement.
Fast forward 4 years and I have graduated college and continue to work on issues that affect the aging population. According to the US Census Bureau, there are over 46 million people aged 65 or older and they account for nearly 15 percent of the total United States population. This population continues to grow and is expected to reach 98 million (23 percent) by the year 2060. With a growing older adult population, it is important to focus on issues such as chronic disease management and fall prevention that will make their quality of life better.
From my experience, older adults can often be either forgotten or looked at as a burden because of their age. When I saw how easily people could be forgotten, I was encouraged to not take these moments for granted. The older adults I met told me about what it was like to live through certain decades and see society progress. Seniors have been so influential to me and they ultimately helped me develop of a sense of purpose. Since they have had more life experience, they were able to share that wisdom with me which made their mentorship more valuable than words can explain. After reflecting on my experiences, I realize that the prejudices I held before were very irrational and this realization also allowed me to understand the importance of the role that older adults play in society.
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By Jewelmani Bell
