Juniors learn at the foot of age, experience through Global visit to Miravida

Juniors in level three of Global Academy spent their morning visiting with Miravida residents on the morning of October 2. Groups of two to three students were partnered with a resident, and their task was to explore the identity of their elderly companion. While conversations may have been short, great bonds were formed.

Too often in education, students are told exactly what they need to soak in and learn. William Brydon, who teaches both English 3 and 3 Honors in the academy, loves to push his students outside those norms. Miravida offered a prime example as students were able to steer the conversation in whichever direction they preferred, all while getting in touch with their emotional side and receiving guidance that could last a lifetime.

“The value of connecting with people that are different from ourselves and forging connections that are outside of our comfort zones is a key part of empathy formation. You don’t have too much of that in the world,” Brydon said. “I was hoping that people would find these conversations with this other generation more enjoyable than expected and that they’d seem more beneficial.”

Juniors Sofia Crowley, Kate Ruby, and GJ Zahner got the privilege of speaking with one of Miravida’s oldest residents, Mary, at 104 years old. Mary was willing to openly converse about her various life experiences, and held conversation in an effortless manner.

“She was one of those people who dealt with things as they came. There were some hard parts of her life but she was never negative about all that stuff,” Zahner said. “I think that she is somebody to learn from. I would attribute at least part of her ability to live past one hundred to her positive outlook. She lived her life, she wasn’t stressed, and there are tons of articles and studies out there about how stress affects your body.”

The students also admire her ability to handle change. Mary considers every phase of her life to be golden years, regardless of all that has changed. She truly has nothing less than respect for younger generations.

“It’s isolating to not be with the times. There’s a stereotype that old people don’t know about the world and they have all these old fashioned ideas,” Zahner said. “That’s not something that Mary had; she even went so far to say that she feels bad for us because we have it harder than she did, because they had less but they made more out of it than we can now. She was so knowledgeable about the world as it is. I think part of that is just because she’s in contact with people of the younger generation.”

Crowley and Ruby agreed, emphasizing Mary’s ability to connect with people as much as ninety years younger than herself.

“Mary’s outlook was, ‘I’m aging, but the world’s amazing, just look at all these young people,’” Crowley said. “Mary loved the fact that we even wanted to talk to her, and she was like ‘younger generation, I love you guys, you guys are our future.’”

Crowley, Ruby, and Zahner all felt a strong connection. Mary’s honesty and openness made it easy for them to sympathize with her experiences, and connect them with their own personal lives. To make the experience even more sentimental, Crowley played the song “Experience” on a piano as the groups wrapped up their conversations. This contributed emotional value and gave the atmosphere the feel of a scene in a meaningful movie.

“She was really honest about her life. It was really emotional for me. When Sofia started playing the piano, that was it, I lost it.” Ruby said. “She was really accepting of her old age and knew she wouldn’t be around much longer.”

Hearing one reflect upon an already lived life is strange for teenagers who are constantly being reminded that their lives have just begun. The three were especially alarmed to hear Mary talk about herself in the past tense.

“She was like ‘my eyesight is going now, my hearing is going, but I had a good life,’” Zahner said. “She was confronting her own mortality, but not in a negative way; she wasn’t scared of it. She viewed it as just another part of life, and she’s experienced so much life.”

The lessons these students learned from Mary extended beyond positivity and kindness; she also taught them how to navigate aging and the various changes that will come as their lives progress. Zahner argues that the bonds between generations are crucial for all to form, as it prevents stress and anxiety over the inevitable ending shared by the human race.

“Ultimately, you have to be able to come to terms with aging and experiencing change, and you can’t do that if you’ve never formed a meaningful connection with somebody who is experiencing those kinds of changes,” she said. “The people who are scared of death, as well as aging and change don’t have many role models who are advancing in their age, and that makes it harder for them to envision themselves being happy at an advanced age.”

When reflecting upon their visit, as well as their own life and the various dreams they hope to pursue, the

three students agree that they hope to maintain even half of Mary’s positivity through it all. She is an admirable figure for the three, and they hope to visit her again, possibly in time for her 105th birthday.

“I hope to have as good a life as Mary. She has traveled to every state in the United States and has all these experiences,” Zahner said. “She would take opportunities as they came to her; there was never any hesitation. I really think that that’s my goal in life, if nothing else, I want to take the opportunities that are given to me and I want to have the experiences that I’ve always wanted to have.”

Mary wasn’t the only resident who formed astounding connections with the students she was assigned to, Judy was another impactful elder who spoke to juniors Addisyn Liptow and Zoey Zinsli.

“She connected to every single one of our lives, different people, living such different lives,” Liptow said. “She’s just lived such a full life. It was crazy that we all somehow could relate to each other.”

The statement “full life” seems to undermine the unthinkable reality Judy faced growing up. One obstacle after another was shoved down the young girl’s throat.

“Her mother passed away from an illegal abortion, which is why she was so adamant on women’s rights because she dealt with that tragedy firsthand,” Liptow said. “Her dad died of alcoholism because he was drunk and driving. She got split up from her siblings, and she lived with her grandma.”

Judy’s mom’s unexpected death had a major influence on the rest of her life. However, rather than falling into a pit of despair, Judy took these tragic events and focused on things she could control by means of coping with her grief. She achieved this optimism, even as her heart ached, by dedicating time towards her passion: helping other women in similar situations as the one that led to her mother’s fate.

“She lived through the women’s rights and abortion movement in the 70s, and she fought for it,” Zinsli said. “She worked for domestic abuse and domestic violence shelters, abortion centers, and she helped girls like her mom get the care they needed. She was upset with how the government’s looking today. She doesn’t want us to have to fight for women’s rights all over again. She wants better for us.”

Judy’s active role in the women’s rights movement is especially inspiring, as action is the only force powerful enough to protect women’s rights to their own bodies.

Another tender connection Liptow shares with Judy is that both lost their fathers in their youth. However, Liptow walked away from their conversation with a newfound sense of acceptance for the tragedy of her past.

“Hearing her talk about how her dad who passed too made me realize that it doesn’t have to be the factor that controls my life, kind of how it’s been for me so far. You can get past that stuff,” she said. “Judy was talking about her dad passing like mine did, and she realized in the end that everything’s okay. It made me realize that the sad feelings don’t last and you can still be more than those feelings.”

Zinsli was also touched by Judy’s beautiful mindset on human emotions and her ability to overcome everything life tried to bring her down with.

“She said, ‘I’m still standing,’ even though she had practically no family,” Zinsli said. “She has no kids, no parents, she has no one. But she was so positive about it.”

The wisdom Judy shared filled the morning with meaning and left Zinsli and Liptow stunned as they reflected upon their own lives. Zinsli used Judy’s words to cope with the stress she feels over finding her ideal future.

“Live your life to please yourself,” Judy said.

This advice resonated with Liptow as well.

“I’m such a people pleaser, a lot of the things I do are to benefit other people or so other people will approve,” she said. “People will say it to you, but when it’s coming from someone who you don’t even know and who doesn’t know you but still somehow makes that connection, it’s just crazy, very eye opening. Judy’s sentiment made me realize that a lot of the stuff I’m so worried about right now, like certain grades, in the end, when I’m retired, it’s not going to matter.”

Judy and Mary alike, formed heartwarming connections with the students who went in expecting to merely meet the guidelines of the assignment at hand. The majority of the global class left Miravida with heavy hearts, as ending their meaningful conversations and leaving the residents to resume a typical day was an emotional task. However, great learning happened over eggs and muffins on that October morning. Liptow recognizes that the lessons learned from Judy extend far beyond what she’s been taught in the classroom.

“How I look at it is you can look anything up on Google, and you can find any information that you’re going to need, but it’s always going to be so generic,” she said. “Hearing it from these people who have actually been through it, and you’re here with them, in person, and you can actually feel and hear the emotion, truly helps so much more with understanding history and human nature as a whole.”

by Jazmine Blustin

Published October 30 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue II