For the past seven months, I have been working as an administrative assistant at Friends Care Community, a nursing home, which shockingly, has been anything but a boring experience. I work alongside our Director of Admission and Marketing, Becky Baker, who is honestly one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I’ve met some amazing people. I think that is the main benefit of my job, meeting amazing people. Becky is strong-willed, empathetic, and one of the best listeners; she is someone I want to be when I get older. Everyday comes with new assignments, or as she calls them, “projects” that keep me on my toes. From working on our newsletter, to helping check-in residents, I rarely find a moment without something to do. One of my favorite “projects” , was to interview residents about their lives. The question, “Where did you grow up?”, takes myself on a journey where within minutes I am sucked into their stories. There is nothing that compares to hearing history through those who have lived it. I’ve met a man who worked for General Douglas McArthur, a woman who worked for Dr. Sontag, a man who tracked Sputnik, and a professor of German Literature, like a said, amazing people.
One of the biggest drawback to this job is losing residents, but it is ironically what I am fascinated by. Normally, when you enter a nursing home, you don’t leave until your body is taken to the funeral home, it’s just how it is. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve met some amazing people, and one thing I have learned is that they die too. This job has strangely made me very aware of my own mortality, that even those who have led amazing lives, can still end up here. And in being aware of my own mortality, I feel more connected. Most of my life, there is an endless chatter in my mind being concerned with what’s best for me, with what will help me, but since understanding my role in this job, it is a lot quieter in my brain. I don’t feel completely consumed with understanding myself, but understanding others around me.
