Childhood experiences play a significant role in shaping our views as adults in many ways, for instance, the way we behave, thinking, feel, act, associate, and many other ways The society functions in parts and individuals' characters and behaviors depend on their orientations. When we take a keen look at the behavior and demeanor of senior citizens, it becomes clear that an Individual's life is shaped by orientations such as birth cohorts, gender, race, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, historical events, religion, and sexual (Holder, 2019) . I choose to take a study on one of my neighbor who is 84 years old. The story is founded on his perspective of life aspects and my observations.
The character's hypothetical name is Mr. Kent. He is a retired civil servant who served as a clerk and a former workers’ union leader. He is very welcoming, talkative although seems to be choosy when it comes to who he opens up to about his life. Since we moved to his neighborhood, I have been paying him visits so this one was not the first. Mr. Kent likes watching historical occurrences on TV, which he says reminds him of his youthful days. He is enthusiastic and cheerful about the historical events and political occurrences of around the Civil War and the Great Depression. To him, these occurrences were a landmark in the lives of many American of his age, and thy cherish them. He liked mentioning what they used to learn in school about patriotism. Mr. Kent’s life was shaped by the culture that was there during his teenage. He says that discipline was a community virtue inculcated to every child and teenager. His family was farmers in Oregon where he used to work with his father, a colonialist, on the farm. This was where he developed an interest in farming. Also, being raised by a political parent made him learn more about being self-dependent since his father had little time with his family. He never got pampered as he would say about the modern children, and to him, life was a must survive.
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Mr. Kent is very positive about different life aspects. He never seems to worry about what tomorrow might bring. In his 80s, he has seen and experienced enough, and everything in life suits itself. He likes searching for problem solutions himself even where at my age, I lack that courage. Unlike the youthful individuals I have come across, no problem was out of hand to him, and his positivity enables him to get through.
Besides, Mr. Kent had an active and productive lifestyle. This is manifested by his participation in physical activities and simple duties around his home. When not watching TV, he is working on his old tractor in the garage. After retirement, he joined the other farmers where he practices grass farming. He doesn't have a driver or a mechanic, but he drives his tractor alone during harvesting the grass. At times, his wife comes to assist him in collecting the bales. He is not impoverished, but he likes his old pick truck that can barely go 20 miles without a breakdown. He never takes it to the mechanic; at his age, he prefers to repair the truck himself. I asked him why he does not employ young people to help him, but he said, "Those lazy people…" I asked, "Did you say lazy?" Yes, they only fancy sitting watching TV playing games. They never care about their health; instead, even cooking, they rarely cook and like fast foods." That answer made me conclude that Mr. Kent stayed active to care for his health.
Looking at Mr. Kent, one could misjudge that he is still in his 60s. I found that in his earlier years, he was very particular on his physical fitness. He took part in aerobic and non-combat sports like tennis. His meals are always fresh from the grocery; he seldom buys food from fast food outlets. He says he lived to eat only the food prepared by his lovely wife. Also, the bond of him and his wife is still strong. They looked happy together despite the few misunderstandings about meals that could arise even while I was there. His wife cared a lot about her husband, unlike the situation in many contemporary marriages and relationships. The couple have high self-esteem, very assertive, and positive-minded.
Reference
Holder, D. (2019). Healthy Lifestyles and Ageing - 2689 Words | Essay Example. Retrieved 1 October 2019, from https://ivypanda.com/essays/healthy-lifestyles-and-ageing/
