My Day At Atchison Senior Village - 849 Words

Before volunteering at Atchison Senior Village I was an ageist, I didn’t really like the very elderly or want to be around them. My time at Atchison Senior Village has taught me a lot, and busted some myths about old age. One of the first myths that was busted was that the elderly have no sex drive. One women Lainey and I met at ASV was very adamant about her nurses taking her to the strip club. The nurses thought it would be a fun idea but warned the woman â€Å"you can look, but you can’t touch† to which she snapped back â€Å"I’ll do whatever I have to do! They aren’t going to tell no to a little old lady!† Many of the residents seemed very set in their ways. When they won prizes at bingo one guy would always pick Cherry Mash as his candy, he knew his favorite and went for it. Another woman wore the same jewelry each day. By the time the residents reached an age of 80 they had their own habits and likes which they stuck with. One of the women I met was under 50, but she enjoyed many of the same activities as the other residents who were in their 80s. This showed me that there isn’t as much difference between middle age and old age- besides physical ability- as I would have originally thought. Middle aged women still care about their kids and crochet as much as the old women. I got to sit with the woman under fifty and she showed me a pamphlet of the play her high school son was in as she crocheted a border around hand towels. She said that her mom comes to visit her and brings her