We Are All Humans

We Are All HumansThe first class today was a bit different than I had expected; I was thinking we would be having a dance class, where Melanie and the dance students would be teaching how to count music, showing positions, teaching basic movements, etc. However, I was surprised and excited to find out that the class was much more centered on individual creativity and improvisation. I was also very surprised how creative and unreserved the seniors danced. I had a preconceived notion before class that the older adults would be a bit shy, move a bit slower and wouldn’t be able to do some of the more advanced movements the students could do. I quickly found out this ageist opinion was very incorrect; overall the older adults were so much more free and energetic than the students! As I was dancing with my PAL, she was the one coming up with the quick, more advanced movements that I couldn’t keep up with! It was quite an eye-opener and it almost completely caused the generational-gap to disappear.

After just one class, I have already realized how similar older and younger adults are (after all, we are all humans!). Today, specifically, showed me how capable older adults can be. Society has the tendency to show senior adults as dependent, physically sedentary and uninvolved in the community. And because of the negative societal views on older adults, I have always just assumed I too would become dependent, physically sedentary and socially uninvolved as I age. PALETTE in Motion is already proving these stereotypes to be unfounded and is giving me a much brighter outlook on aging. I can honestly say the older adults in today’s class have inspired me and changed the way I look at aging. Growing older is something to embrace and to not be afraid of. I am very excited for the following classes and cannot wait to learn more about how dancing can bring generations closer.

Laura Morris, graduate student in Physical Therapy

Mirror Painting on the Last Day

Mirror Painting on the Last DayToday was the last day of the PALETTE program. Bob and I actually had more conversation than we’ve had since day one. This is probably because we realized that we hadn’t gotten to know each other as well as we would have liked to. We started the day with print making, and in the middle of that we got to do the mirror painting! Printmaking was nice, but I absolutely loved the miror painting. I used a small brush and Bob used a large one, so on my side of the board it looked really cool because my lines had a back drop pretty much. He and I both laughed a lot at this because the board was filled with paint already so we were trying to fill in the blank areas as well as keep track of where we were! He told me I was good at keeping up with him! I appreciated that he said that because a lot of people would assume an older adult would need to keep up with the younger adult, but he did not cut himself short and I was proud of that.

I had a wonderful experience making art with my PAL Bob, he was definitely an interesting person and he and I both share some of the same qaulities so I am glad we got matched up. He has a young attitude and I feel like he had the exact same personality when he was in high school or college. I will miss sharing moments like this with him because I do not get to spend time with my grandparents so he was sort of filling that void in my life.

Unnecessary Worrying

Zaneera and GeorgieToday I met my PAL, Georgie, and her husband Gil. I was excited, but so nervous about meeting my PAL. What if we didn’t have anything to talk about? What if we didn’t click? What were they going to be like? All of these questions were running through my head as I first stepped into the community room at the JCC. After a quick look around, I found my name tag, on the table, next to my PAL. The moment I saw her welcoming smile, I knew I had been worrying for no reason. Georgie is absolutely amazing; we were able to talk about several things that we are both interested in. Who would have thought that my PAL would love young adult novels as much as I do, or that she grew up just blocks from where I live now?  I loved listening to her tell me about her family or what her and her husband do in their spare time, especially because I’m more of a listener and not much of a talker. And now I have several titles and authors to look up before I meet Georgie again in February!

In our conversation today, one thing that that stood out to me was when we were discussing the programs that different community centers such as the YMCA have; Georgie said “I don’t understand why they have all these programs for kids, but so little for adults”. It was such a simple statement about how she identified herself. She said “adult”, where as I probably would have said “older adult” or “senior” programs. And that’s exactly what she is: an adult, just as the rest of us are. From those six seconds I realized how much aging stereotypes and ageism affect us without even realizing it. I know it will take time for me to break down these barriers that society has placed in my mind against age, but in the meantime I will learn about the beauty of growing and all that life has to offer from such a genuine person as my PAL, Georgie.

Thinking back, it was unnecessary for me to have been worried about meeting my PAL.

 

Zaneera Hassan, third year graduate student in the VCU School of Pharmacy