Over the course of this semester, we were given insight into what the aging process really looks like and got the opportunity to challenge societal beliefs surrounding the lifestyle of older clients. That was my first major takeaway from this course. It is easy, as a younger person, to assume you know what it’s like to grow older and lose some capabilities you once had. However, it is not as simple or cut and dry as we’d like to think.
When our guest speaker visited, she spoke about what her life is like now in her old age. She has lost loved ones, including her spouse, but still has a healthy social life and plenty of hobbies. She drives, she has a friend group where she lives, and she loves visiting students and speaking at universities. I realized during her conversations with us, that I’ve only ever associated growing older with loss. I never thought about what I could gain from aging, and while it does make me sad thinking about how many loved ones I will lose over the years, I know that I will also gain many more.
The second insight I will take away from this course was the humility I felt during the creation of me and my partner’s life book. Our project focused on her great aunt, who is currently in her late 70s and lives locally. Before we began the interview process, we received hundreds of photographs from over the years of her life. From the surface, her life seems idyllic, and her family looked so happy. After interviewing her and delving further into her life story, we discovered that although she is very happy in her older years, she has been through a lot and faced many challenges, including tumultuous relationships with her children and grandchildren. I realized how important this concept will be going forward in my nursing career, and I will remember not to judge a book by its cover, and to never assume anything about a client’s life.
