Life is what you make of it

Over the summer, I volunteered at Sheltering Arms Day Center, which is a place where they work with elders with dementia. From volunteering there, I learned more about what life means. They taught me to not always be caught up in something or to not only focus on one thing. At their age, they lived as life came to them.

Being there three times a week with the senior citizens also showed me that you can still be happy and to enjoy your life with whatever you have. They showed me that I needed to be grateful for everything I have and to be happy with what life presents me with. The seniors indirectly showed me what to be grateful for, such as my youth, my health, my family and my friends. Most people did not have their families to take care of them or to love and had to hire someone to take care of them.

As I talked with them, I got the opportunity to learn their stories. Some of them migrated, some fought in wars, and some had traumatic events happen to them or their family. They always told me to have some fun and to choose wisely how I was going to spend my life. So I have been spending time trying to figure out who I am and discover my passions, such as singing. It has taught me personally the meaning of the phrase “life is what you make of it” because they always told me to make good decisions because that would make me happy with my life. I made the decision of who my friends are and how I treat them.

They gave me advice like to never being embarrassed and to just dance like nobody was watching. Because of their conditions, they did not always remember too much. However, they made every day meaningful. From volunteering there, I hope to make my life more impactful and one to remember.

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