3H DARREN THER (9)

Elderly folk. A bunch of old smelly people whom I detest. However, that immature and insensible way of thinking was merely how I viewed the elderly in the past. In fact, I stayed away from elderly people in the past as I felt that they were troublesome and required a large amount of attention and help in order for them to complete daily activities. To the astonishment of many, I even hated them as they seemed smelly and untidy and felt that they were thorns of the society. However, after this service learning course, I have learnt that the elderly folk are not as frightening as I thought them to be. Instead, they are friendly and always smiling, and also show concern about others as they constantly asked questions about us to know more about our school and life as students. They are not smelly, untidy and troublesome. Many of the elderly folks are able to do many things that you and me can do. For example, during the course, we exercised with them and also taught them how to use the iPad. Not only were they energetic and eager to learn, they also learned how to use the iPad quickly and showed interest in the games which we taught them how to play, particularly the interactive Talking Tom which they found funny due to the way the cat mimicked their voices. After the course, I feel that I should not have detested elderly folks and I should have showed them more concern and given them my fullest attention. Elderly folk are less able to move about as they are older and have difficulties in movement and are more fragile. I should have understood that this is the way humans are and that it is not their choice to have become less able to do things. Furthermore, some elderly folks are eager to learn although they are unable to learn as quickly as others. Additionally, elderly folks have far more experience in life, and they do not hesitate to share their experiences and knowledge, thus I feel really respect them. For example, an elderly man enjoyed talking to me and even shared his experiences in life when he was younger and during the World War ll with me. Also, an elderly man could do many tricks such as spinning his umbrella on the tip of a pen and cracking hilarious jokes which made us burst out laughing. It really goes to show that I have the wrong perspective towards elderly people as I had shut them out from my heart and caused misunderstandings to occur. During the service learning course, one thing that I can never forget is something which happened during the iPad training lesson. During that lesson, a classmate and I had been chosen to host the lesson and to teach a group of elderly folk how to use the iPad. Initially, I thought that it would take forever for them to learn it as the technology was highly advanced. However, to my astonishment, an old lady was able to learn very quickly, even surpassing my knowledge of the iPad. For example, in the drawing pad for the iPad, I did not know how to use a certain function. However, she was able to use that function to further enhance her drawing to make it look very professional, leaving me stunned and amazed. Furthermore, almost all of the elderly folk were able to follow the lesson closely, hence most of the student helpers did not need to assist them as they could understand the lesson and learn quickly. This incident proved me wrong as elderly folks are not slow and can also use advanced technology like teenagers and young adults do. I really look up to elderly folk now as they have showed me that I am wrong to think that they are irritating and troublesome. Furthermore, everyone will become old one day, and that does not change who they are inside. I should have looked at their hearts and not their appearances. One can never judge a book by its cover. Overall, the service learning program was a great experience. In the future, I would really love to be able to have such opportunities to give back to the society by doing voluntary community service for no profit or self benefits. It is important for young people like us to understand the fact that we should be constantly finding ways to give back to society and to be grateful of the peaceful community we have today. A Chinese proverb states that when someone offers help, he himself will feel a sense of achievement and incomparable happiness, which is true as I felt happy while serving the elderly folks. Therefore, when I get older, I will definitely participate in community-involvement programs as seeing them smiling happily will surely make me feel happy too, and at the same time enable them to receive the assistance which they deserve.