Personal Narrative: An Interview With An Elderly Person

I wasn’t sure what our day would entail. I could feel a slight tremor present in my body as I slid behind the steering wheel of the MKZ. Running my finger tips over the leather where the treads to the steering wheel was laced together I contemplated leaping from the car and running like hell. This was a seriously stupid and dangerous thing I was about ready to take part in. Could I do this? My mind wanders to the trunk of the vehicle… What’s back there? How much is back there? Enough to be charged with a misdemeanor…a felony! My heart jack hammered in my chest. Was the benefit worth the risk? Feeling panic setting in I swung my legs out of the vehicle just as Eloy took his seat behind me closing the door. His eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror.

On a cold December morning snow blanketed the ground while a frozen mist masked the trees. Only the very tops could be seen. I stepped outside and inhaled the clean, crisp Texas air. Still half asleep, I walked to the truck feeling the soft powder compact beneath my boots and the snowflakes melt as they hit my skin. It was the time of year that I had been longing for.

In her family she was the only one to continue her education past high school. Hearing what it took to make this happen was incredible. When I was in grade school both my grandmother and grandfather took it upon themselves to make a college education account for all us grandkids. They didn’t want to see us struggle like they had to.

Coming into this task, I had never put forth any interest in the aging population. I knew this group was vulnerable and in need of more advocacy to raise awareness but it was not as appealing as other populations. I did not have tremendous knowledge of what aging adults go through on a daily basis or any challenges they so often face. Therefore, when I arrived to the set location of the interview, I was a bit timid and afraid. This was my first time ever interviewing someone of this age with the intensions it was geared for. I was worried of how Denise was going to respond to my personal questions or if she even would. I was completely shocked to find that she was absolutely respectful and willing to answer anything I wanted to ask. After asking

My interviews with Jane took place in Damen Student Center on Loyola University Chicago’s Lakeshore Campus. My main goal for my learning about older adults is to overcome my fear of aging and the elderly. I have always been nervous around older people because I feel that the process of aging is scary since it is an inevitable part of life that means you are closer to the death. By talking with Jane, I hope to realize that older people are of value to society, and that they can contribute a great deal to the world at large. My three biggest challenges with this assignment are 1) worrying that I’ll offend Jane with some of my questions about aging. I know she is elderly, and she knows it too, but I still want to be sensitive about it. 2) I want to make sure I obtain as much information as possible during the interview while maintaining a sense of dignity and respect. It is sometimes difficult to find a balance between the two. 3) I also want to have the opportunity to ask as many questions as I can so that I can gather as much information as possible during our time together.

The sharp arctic like breeze propels itself onto my young and fair skin as my mother forces the old, frail white birch door open, exposing both myself and my younger sister to the harsh and unforgiving climate that awaits us beyond the both feeble and aged shack that I have called home for the past nine and a half years. My father sits in the frost bitten and beaten three seater Chevrolet truck. Crammed in the tray covered in tarp, I struggle to make out the shape of what seems to be my previously owned duffel bag, bestowed upon me by my next door neighbours following the death of their son, my mother describes his death to me as being “a tragic accident” down in the Cape Breton mines. Before my eyes could properly focus on the contents inside the tray of the truck, my Mother had already

“Casey, your group needs to do the stunt one more time!” coach said imprudently. It happened March 26, 2015; it was at the end of a two hour practice. During the summer months in South Georgia, it is utterly hot and humid, especially in our cheer gym (a warehouse with no air conditioner); it only has two heavy-duty fans and a roll-up door. With this in mind, my group became slightly irritated. Everyone was exhausted; nevertheless we still had to do the stunt anyway.

Throughout the week I had three different memorable conversations that I felt would be excellent for this assignment. The first conversation I had was with my mother, than my sister, and lastly one of my co-workers named Jennifer.

When presented with this assignment, I didn’t know anyone over the age of 70 local to my area, so I asked a classmate if I could interview her grandmother. Her grandmother, BD, graciously agreed to do the interview.

The older adult I had the opportunity to interview was my boyfriend 's step grandmother. I met her a few years ago when we took a vacation in Florida, and thought she would be a great person to interview, because she is outgoing and has aged well. I conducted a telephone interview for this assignment, because she is currently in Florida for the remainder of the Spring season.

Sometimes becoming elderly does not mean losing everything, and not being able to walk and do things. It can mean you grow frail yes, however it does means growing wise, smart and being able to cherish your life, looking back on the things that you once loved so dearly. I chose to write this paper on my Lee Manor resident Jean. She is a very smart lady that has many different aspects to her. She is slowly deteriorating, but has never once turned rude. She wanders a lot, and is on a variety of different medications, but that has not stopped her from anything. This paper will talk about the different ways that we can try to help her, and will show the reader a little bit about her life.

The wisdom, stories and experiences the elderly have to offer to anyone including those in my age range is remarkable. It should be shameful to not endure and embrace the knowledge spoken or unspoken from the elderly. The challenge I had in regards to this interview was not receiving the answers to so of the most intriguing questions that on the other hand must be the most personal from my interviewer. In addition, wrapping up and closing was much more challenging as the more we talked the more questions I generated out of curiosity from the interesting nature of most responses. I found myself wanting to keep talking and realized that I projected a one hour interview that turned into almost two-half hour

Jason stared up at Tyler's eyes; deranged, dilated, discolored. Tyler wore a smile on his face, his usual smirk twice as wide and displaying too many teeth. He held a silver and black pistol in his hand.

was driving home from physical therapy for my knee. It had been aching for the past few days. I had never felt a pain like it before, so I played it off as nothing. As soon as I hit the highway, I went underneath the Lowry Hill tunnel. I lost reception on my radio and I soon realized that it wasn’t just the tunnel that was making me lose my reception. A massive storm had loomed over my head. The sky was green and looked like it was turning sideways. Rain splattered against my windshield. Not just droplets of rain, but the ones that look like they had been shot out of a paintball gun. I immediately felt the wind blow my car to the right. I had to swerve hard to the left to avoid clipping a jeep that was next to me. Boy, were they in trouble. The jeep had it’s

I am not lost. I ran away with Gabriel the night before The Ceremonies. Fiona, please show The Elder Receiver this letter after you read it. I cannot come back to the community because I have broken too many rules: I left my dwelling at night, plundered leftover food, stole my father’s bicycle, and I took Gabriel. I needed to take him; they were going to release him in the morning if I didn’t. I miss you and Asher, but I had to leave for a reason that only the Elder Receiver would understand. The community is keeping feelings and memories and colors away from the citizens. The Elder Receiver and I made a plan to spread the memories among the community. We decided that it would be much easier and less painful if we all acquired the memories, instead of just