Life from Its Inception Is a Journey - Essay Example

If I live to be 100 Discuss why is examination of the lives of centenarians (and the “oldest-old is important. Life from its inception is a journey. Only those who have travelled this journey can tell you all about it, and examination of the lives of the centenarians is no different. Through their experiences, we get to learn how we are to live as people. Their experiences are vast in its richness and diversity, as they all lived different lives, all hoping and praying that the next day may not be their last. Some of their lives were intertwined; like the couple who has always lived together in marriage, offer us very great and important insights on how to live in peace love and harmony. (Ellis, 2002) The greatest thing one could draw from the examination of the lives of the centenarians is the lessons one can learn from their lives. One looking at life through their eyes gets to see the brevity of it all especially looking at Rochelle who suffers from dementia when she said, "My mind is going. I can sense it." We get to learn to appreciate fully when all we have is nothing but our minds, souls and bodies. (Ellis, 2002) Through the empathy that the writer shows to her interviewees, we get to see that their experiences touch you as an individual who is always trying to conform to a higher purpose, to be a better person. On further examination, you realize your life is similar if not exactly similar to other people’s lives. The only difference is that they may have lived at an earlier time, but both of your experiences are similar in nature. That is exactly what happens to the writer and she says "I was feeling the emotional states of the centenarians, losing my own state and taking on theirs. And I am beginning to think that the centenarians know about this intuitively. They know how important the connection with others is, because its harder for them to get it. They are often alone and understand that being cut off from other people is a death sentence ... And maybe theyre better at it, too, because they grew up in a world without so much distraction, when people were more likely to talk to one another - at the dinner table, around the fire at night, riding together in a sleigh, or walking to school." (Ellis, 2002) 2. Choose two individuals from the book who exemplify aging well: individuals who are functioning well, what is sometimes called “successful aging” (refer to syllabus for date of discussion of “successful aging”) and two who exemplify less “successful aging”. For each one of examples of “successful aging” and less “successful aging” chose,, discuss, in detail, why you chose those individuals, including aspects of those individuals’ lives that support your views. What do you consider “successful aging”? The individuals that aged successfully are Anna Wilmot and Gilbert Hill. Anna Wilmot is an example of a woman who lives life to the fullest every day of her life, she is a bonafide optimist. She is seen to have lived a full life, life with very little regret, because she always seeks to achieve happiness in whatever she is doing, she keeps going, realizing that when that moment passes, she can never ever reclaim it. One instance we can see this is when she tells the author that she skinny dips "when its foggy and no fishermen are around." She embodies the principle of carpe diem to the fullest and one can witness this from her conversation with the author. "Anna, what do people have to look forward to, being a hundred years old?" "Well, the only thing I can say is, Dont sit. Get going. Move. Have an incentive. Dont keep thinking Im old. Get it out of your system. Keep going! I dont stay put. Thats it." (Ellis, 2002) Gilbert Hill is another centenarian who has aged well. We learn that he has been married to the same woman, Sadie, for more than 80 years. The man seems to have achieved something rare, to have found something rare, to the point of him and his wife enjoying blissful marriage for all those years. The blissful marriage rarity can be shown by the New England Centenarian Study which posits that "the odds of a married couple both making it to one hundred are six million to one." (Anthony L. Komaroff, 2012) How rare is it to have found something that lasts that long with someone else. They embody successful aging because they have discovered the secret of living well for all these years, which is living with someone you love and respect. (Ellis, 2002) Those that have exemplified less successful aging are Rochelle and Roy Stamper. I chose Rochelle as having aged less that successfully because we see her suffering from dementia because of her old age. It seems that she knows it too because she tells the author, “My mind is going. I can sense it." It is a sad state of affairs to see that her once jovial life is being turned to mush because she can hardly remember anything or grasp anything that goes on around her. (Ellis, 2002) The other individual who has not aged successfully according to me is Roy Stamper. This man falls into this category because he seems to always be chasing after something, thinking that he will find it when he flips the next page of life. This is embodied by his action of marrying his third wife at the age of 103. At this age, he should have settled down and found someone who will help his twilight years be full of joy. This is not the case as he seems not to have realized that even in his old age. (Ellis, 2002) 3. What are your thoughts---pros and cons---on what it would be like to live to 100 years (or longer)? Would you choose to live to this age? Why or why not? I would choose to live to 100 years and more because of the simple fact that you get to experience life in a unique way, as not many people will be able to achieve this, a life full of experiences that will make you wiser for it as you go on living and loving. It gives one a unique insight into all matters and situations; curve ball or not, that life may throw at you. You get to be cherished in society as society always respects the aged individuals and being a centenarian gives an added advantage because you might possibly be the oldest living individual in that community. The cons of living to this age are that you get to witness your friends and family dying off leaving you alone. You get to live with the pain of their loss which is usually crushing to an individual. At 100 years and over, you will have buried very many people, and this translates into a lot of pain that you have to take in as a person. 4. Cohort effects are evident in the life stories of the individuals featured in the book; identify at least 2 examples of cohort-related experiences/influences/issues from the life stories in the book and discuss how the individuals were impacted. We get to see Margaret Rawson and Anna Wilmot. These two individuals in their old age are both driven individuals who realize the value of hard work and determination. This is shown from the values that guided their childhood, giving them a higher sense of purpose that transcends both their time and energy. (Ellis, 2002) Margaret Rawson had a great-great-grandfather who was in the George Washington army. From him, her family learnt the value of resolve and willpower which enabled her to publish a book on dyslexia at the age of 96. This in itself is no mean feat. Dyslexia needs a lot of research and to write a book also needs one to have fortitude. She possesses both thus making her a very determined individual. (Ellis, 2002) Anna Wilmot also shows strength of her resolve and character as she always wants to keep pushing on. To this day she still rows her boat every morning. Throughout her younger years she has always been guided by her internal strength and the need to achieve more than the status quo and we get to see this during her interview with the author. "Anna, what do people have to look forward to, being a hundred years old?" "Well, the only thing I can say is, Dont sit. Get going. Move. Have an incentive. Dont keep thinking Im old. Get it out of your system. Keep going! I dont stay put. Thats it." (Ellis, 2002) These values that she possesses, of hard work and determination, make her similar to Margaret Rawson. Even though they were brought up separately, the values that guided them in their younger years left a lasting impact in their lives making them similar in their character. 5. Project yourself into the future and imagine you and your cohort group as centenarians. Based on your life experiences thus far, discuss what cohort-related experiences/influences/issues you would anticipate impacting your development and life review at age 100. As a centenarian looking back, I will be alive to the fact that my upbringing will have greatly shaped mine and my friend’s lives. Currently, we are an industrious group of individuals who come from middle-income families that have struggled to get to where they are, and are doing everything within their might and power to stay that way and if need be to ascend the social ladder, not only in terms of monetary worth, but social worth too. This has rubbed off on me and my friends and I know that on that day when we as centenarians are looking back and realize how far we have come, we will be greatly appreciative to our parents for teaching us the value of hard work and determination. 6. Do you know someone who is a centenarian? If so, what is your experience of them? My great grandmother is a centenarian close to 120 years old. She is a woman full of wisdom and knowledge, always ready with a kind word and teaching drawn from her larger than life experience in this world. The community loves her a lot because she is a peaceful woman who always seeks to do what she can to help other people. I love and respect her for what she has done and how she carries herself with her strength and resolve despite what she has been through which I know is a lot. Reference Anthony L. Komaroff, M. P. (2012). Living to 100: What’s the Secret? Harvard Health Publications . Ellis, N. (2002). If I live to be 100. New York: Three Rivers Press. Read More