Observations on Aging “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” Satchel Paige, Baseball Player *** Compare the words aging or elderly with youth and vibrancy. Which do you prefer? When I was in my twenties, I had the attitude that I was different from everyone else. Old people were old because they were weak mentally. Aging got the better of them because they allowed it to do so. I would be an anomaly and stay alive for as long as I wanted. I ran a 4:30 mile simply by sprinting the entire distance. Only when I got serious about boxing and martial arts did I begin running regularly. Then, to warm up, I would run three or four miles and jump rope for 30 minutes straight. Saturday mornings, I ran up and down hills over a 6.6-mile …show more content…
Their commercials will be targeting me in a few short years. In my 60’s and 70’s, Depends adult diapers will set their sights on me. Could this be the genesis of the phrase, The Golden Years? I used to look forward to the major events to come. Now the little things in life are more important. A morning cup of coffee, an afternoon cup of tea, a good meal with friends, and explaining the birds and the bees to my sons are some of the little things that make life worth living. I forget what this has to do with the aging process. Having children forces you to grow up and changes your life. Those who have no children may think they understand life and all it encompasses, but the truth is having children teaches a person more than they learn on their own. My sons never let me forget that in their eyes I am old. When I tell them, "My back hurts," they ask, "Is it because you're old?" "How old are you Daddy?" "Fifty," I say. "Wow, you are old." A Thai friend told me his mother was old. "How old is she?" I asked. “She is very old. Fifty-two." Perhaps he was trying to tell me
‘No. You’re eighteen.’ … Then he asked my father, who answered: ‘I’m fifty.’ ‘No… Not fifty. You’re forty.
Scott-Maxwell, F. (1979). The measure of my days. New York: Penguin Books. The Measure of My Days is an autobiography by Florida Scott-Maxwell, which she had written in her eighties.
When you're trying to make enough money to support a wife and four kids, life gets a little stressful. But that didn’t stop my grandfather from going through those hardships with a smile. My grandfather was born on July 17th, 1937. That’s right, he’s seventy-eight years old! Sure, when he was growing up he would be defined as higher class.
‘I’m eighteen.’ My voice was trembling. ‘In good health?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Your
There were numerous of insanely and outlandish commercials during the Super Bowl of 2015. Most of the commercials would have to advertise sex, kids, animals, or randomness in order to appeal audience. Then there are ads like the Dodge commercials. It sends a message that needs to be sent - respect wisdom. Social media can be cruel and demeaning, especially to elderly people.
I believe it is due to health care and the many different teams of doctors, Social Workers and agencies that specialize in the health and wellbeing of our aged population 1. How many people do you know personally that are part of the oldest of old age category? My Aunt fits that category. She is 91 years old and full of energy.
In the case of the elderly, sometimes working with young children can bring them seemingly back to their younger selves. In worlds where interaction between people is bleak and often nonexistent, teenagers offer a contrast that can make adults curious again. And in a world so filled with meaningless pain that almost all lose hope, children are there to make them rethink
Solomons (2016) defined self-respect as an individual’s acceptance of self which forms the keystone on how he treats himself and allow others to treat him. With this, it seems that elderlies tend to have difficulty accepting the changes happening in later life. These changes can be reflected in their responses and predominantly focused in their susceptibility of having negative perception of their capabilities or qualities. It seems that they regard aging as a discontinuation process which denotes that they seem to describe their stage in life marked by diminish strength, health, ability and productivity. Some of their responses are: “Mahina na po ako, matanda na., Hindi ko na nagagawa ang dati kong ginagawa noon., Nabawasan na ang lakas ko., Nahihirapan na ako., and Hindi na ako aasenso hanggang dito na lang ako.”, which can be supported by the claim of Esteban (2015) who determined the idioms that Filipino elderlies use to describe and make sense of their experience of
In “Pickles,” a comic segment by author and illustrator Brian Crane, the stereotype and generalization of the older generation as forgetful is visited. Crane represents one primary social group - the elderly - through a comical and humorous way. He portrays the stereotype of senility by connecting it to the wife in the comic. Crane specifically addresses this stereotype by showing the wife’s confusion when she cannot find her husband. He proposes a simple, and often familiar, problem that is later resolved by her husband.
“Cats in the Cradle” and “Eleanor Rigby” In my view, in “Cats in the Cradle” and in “Eleanor Rigby,” the older people are presented negatively. The type of ageism in “Cats in the Cradle” is unintentional ageism because when the father calls his son and invites him for a visit, the son talks about his own problems. Furthermore, he tells his father; he will visit him if he finds the time and says, “Nice taking to you, goodbye.” This shows the son wanted to meet his father but he was busy in his own world.
With the undeniable truth, everyone must age and grow older. Although this is a natural process of life, not everyone is accepting of this. At this age, being an older adult you face difficulties such as aging, sexuality, relationship dynamics and having to face reality that you are not in your prime as you once were. Heart attacks, strokes, and other ailments are examples of this. However, just as there younger counterparts they still able to do somethings they were able to do in their earlier stages.
The media often reinforces two extreme stereotypes of older adults. One extreme stereotype shows the negative aspects by highlighting that old age is plagued by illness and a high dependence on others. The other extreme stereotype highlights the seniors that are doing exceptionally well by showing that they are completely independent, finally stable, and maintained a youthful look and persona. These portrayals do not represent the life challenges and successes of the mass majority of aging adults. Older adults are rarely represented in the media, so how they are represented truly matters to their overall image and approach to aging.
The author, Sandra Cisneros, uses literary techniques in “Eleven” to characterize Rachel by using metaphors, comparisons, and repetition. In the beginning of Sandra Cisneros’s short story, she states that when a person becomes an age older they will not feel a difference. The character Rachel explains that in different situations, for example, “Like some days you might say something stupid, and [you will feel ten]” a person might feel different from their actual age. She then competes growing old to layers of an onion, rings of a tree, wooden dolls that fit inside each other because, according to her, “that’s how being eleven years old is”.
Late Adulthood is the stage of the human life cycle where an individual nears the end of their life. The life expectancy in the United States has slowly increased over the years therefore allowed many to further analyze the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development during late adulthood. The stage of late adulthood has been emphasized by ageism and the stereotypical "old" person but, will be further educated by the normative development of the life cycle of late adulthood. For the “old” experience dramatic changes in their development as they face loss, death, and illness.
However in spite of this, Ben demonstrates our third class topic of positive successful aging. Ben offers a perfect example of how aging well can still have a positive effect on his own life, as well as that of others. Ben appears to proceed through his life experiences with an