Lilly Lavigne 's Life Course Essay

Demi Lovato is an inspiration to many girls and boys. She has had many ups and downs in her life, but she made it through the tough times in her life. She’s a role model to many people around the world, teaching them not to give up. She’s saved many lives just by saving her own.

Successful aging is a complicated and multifaceted concept that varies contextually among individuals, disciplines, and even time. Gerontologists have traditionally considered a person to have aged successfully upon having reached old age with their physical health, mental well-being and spirit still intact. Ultimately, successful aging is a matter of personal perspective, largely influenced by an individual 's values and experiences. Even those within America 's elderly population hold conflicting perspectives on what it means to have aged successfully. A qualitative study published by Reichstadt and Sengupta titled Older Adults ' Perspectives on Successful Aging, concluded that “older adults viewed successful aging as a balance between self-acceptance and self-contentedness on one hand and engagement with life and self-growth in later life on the other” (Reichstadt, "Older Adults ' Perspectives on Successful Aging: Qualitative Interviews", pp. 567-575.)

For a personal perspective of life inside Pierce County I consulted with a colleague who works as a lactation consultant. She is a 50-year-old college-educated white female who also works as an instructor in a local vocational college. She reports that her cohort’s attitude toward aging is not altogether positive. She is beginning to feel the gradual decline in her body functions and says that she and others like her find it frustrating that their bodies don’t work as well as they did in their youth. That attitude of reluctance tends to affect how readily her peers seek assistance, especially if it means accepting the realities of aging. Some of the physical health problems common in her cohort involve vision, sleep apnea, joint pain, and decreased stamina.

The humanity of aging is a concept sometimes hard to grasp. Understanding why we are

Three years ago Tommie Mae Crutchfield celebrated her 90th birthday. She still drives to church on Sunday morning and Wednesday night, shops and lives independently in the house her husband built. In 2013 her church notably honored six 90th birthdays. Additionally, her sister and sister-in-law also turned 91 and 90 respectively. All at home living independently and doing well. Tommie Mae is no longer unique. People are growing old and living longer. This is good news for everyone one. Furthermore, how society views aging and the aged is changing. “Younger generations have come to realize that in their elders they have a precious and useful asset, not a burden” (The Legacy of Claude Pepper, 2015, p. 86). They have just slowed their pace but, have a wealth of wisdom.

Cathy’s ability to become a successful ager was influenced by Race, Gender, Social Class and Historical Events:

Anita Rosen, MSW, Ph.D is retired and now works as a professional volunteer and consultant. She serves the American Society on Aging (ASA) as: Representative to the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), the premier advocacy coalition of the nation's non-profit organizations serving older Americans; and, Representative to the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging. She serves on the ASA Policy Response Team and Policy Committee and on the ASA Mental Health and Aging Network Leadership Council. She is an Editorial Reviewer of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and Families in Society.

smoldering cigarette in hand, watching the cars and passerbys going up and down Mount Pleasant Avenue in Providence. A beat up Chevrolet with blasting rap music slows down and Donovan exchanges good natured insults with the four or five boys inside. Teasingly, she makes and obscene gesture and the car takes off up the street, leaving the air thick with the distinct smell of muffler smoke and the fading strains of DMX. As they disappear out of sight, she shakes her head and chuckles slightly, obviously struck by some funny thought that she 's not about to share. Watching this nonchalant blonde, no one would ever guess she carries the stigma of a childhood marked my tragedy and trauma.

Another supporter of changing the way aging is conveyed is author, Margaret Cruiksbank, of the book, Learning to be Old. In her book she is a proponent of changing the way the aging process is described. Her position is that the underlying meaning of popular terms to describe aging weakens its value. She denotes that the term “successful aging” is a false phrase for the elderly as it “masks both the wish to continue mid-life indefinitely and the white, Middle-class, Western values of researchers, causing them to emphasize productivity, effectiveness and independence” (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2). She also concludes that the term “productive” aging symbolizes “economic usefulness and social conformity” (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2), especially for the female gender. More importantly, these terms can be used to measure. This ability to measure is subjective to the questioner and an individual’s self-worth. She suggests the term “aging comfortably” as it signifies easiness, and a “faint hint” of pleasurable self-indulgence which may not have been possible in younger years (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 3).

Cross sectional studies would indicate that Norma should be experiencing health issues and poorer physical function as she has begun to age but as of now she has yet to experience any. The cross sectional studies say “The older the person, on average, the poorer his or her physical function.” (Novak) “So far so good, I feel great but things can always change in an instant” says Norma. As we continued to talk about health and societies view on aging she really gave off the vibe that she doesn’t care too much about what society thinks but does realize that it is a huge issue for many people. Aging is never easy and nobody wants to look old but Norma says, “Aging is natural and society puts too much pressure on people to always look young. If you feel young, then you are.” One thing I noticed throughout our conversation was that she strongly credited her faith for being a huge role in, not only her life, but in her success in being healthy. She believes that because she has been faithful to her church and to God, that he has blessed her with a healthy life and

The article Old Before Her Time in a recent issue of Time magazine deals with an important aspect of American society the problems of old age.

The sociological aspects of aging are defined by the activities an individual engages in while transitioning to old age. To age well, a person needs to take part in social activities that deal with family or the community. For instance, joining a members club or offering to volunteer in certain activities aid in ageing well. It is, however, important to note that social perspectives of aging are diverse across different cultures. For instance, a 40-year-old individual in the United States may not have similar ageing aspects as a person living in Africa or parts of Europe. Gerontologists have on many occasions provided a number of reasons to explain the essence of aging, yet such perspectives can comprehensively be understood

She watched as her children grew and started their own lives. She had already made peace with her life outcome. Days after Christmas when all her children had gathered for the first time in many years, she passed away at the age of seventy-eight. Many knew her as Rachel Huaracha Sansores, I knew her as grandma. As life goes on we start to realize that those closest to us will one day vanish and all we are left with will be memories. Even though many lives are lost every day, life expectancy increases. We see an increase in older individuals throughout many countries, both in absolute numbers and as a total population. Within the U.S. this form of “aging” of population is known as the “baby boomers”, those who are born post WWII, from 1946-1964. As much as everyone would like to stay young forever, in 2011 the first baby boomer turned 65. As this aging population increases, it will have an impact on socioeconomics and political consequences. The health care industry will be impacted tremendously by requiring more resources and personnel to aide for the elderly. As needs for the elderly become more obvious, the nature of healthcare is likely to

Everyone knows that in order to truly appreciate something sometimes you have to do without. I think that this can be related to my Catholic faith and studying about the Jewish faith. After reading the book, "To Life", I value my faith that I have much more. It has also helped me to appreciate the Jewish faith. Lastly, it has enlightened my mind with appreciation for the Jewish faith and how it has been a building block for our faith.

More of the big change in Louise's and my lives for nearly 3 months between May and July 2017.