Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Comp 2 TR 10:30
29 January 2019
In our community, our elders live in almost solitude. Some live in nursing homes, while
others are a part of an assisted living program. Many of them do not have family or do not get to
see them often. As a community, it should be our responsibility to take care of the people who
cared for us and make their lives as best as possible. This goal can be accomplished by spending
time and caring for our elders, while also recognizing the part they played in who we are.
One way we can be better about caring for our elders is by building relationships with the
ones who do not have much contact with the outside world. Just sitting down with someone and
talking to them can improve their day beyond measure, especially if you are the first person they
have talked to in months besides their health care provider. In “On Being Neighborly” by Marcus
Brotherton, he points out by building relationships with our elders who cannot completely care
for themselves, we gain the opportunity to become the ones who care for them (Brotherton).
Knowing the person who is providing the care makes it much easier to accept the care. This
could be the solution to the relationship boundaries that are sometimes felt between a patient and
Just as we can play a part in the healthcare of our elders, they also play a role in shaping
who we are. Many grandparents act as a second set of parents when we are children, and
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grandparents typically want to be involved in the lives of their grandchildren as much as they
can. This involvement has a major impact on our development as children. Research by
Professor Ann Buchanan from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention found “that
those with a high level of grandparental involvement had fewer emotional and behavioural
problems” (“Grandparents Contribute to Children's Wellbeing”). Not only do our elders play a
part in developing who we become, they also play a part in the development of our emotional
and behavioral stability. We must not forget how much of an impact they have had on us. We
must realize when the time comes, we need to be there for them like they were for us.
Not only is being there for our elders morally correct, it is also a benefit to us. By helping
others, we help ourselves. Typically, when you make someone’s day better, it makes your own
day better. You take pride in knowing you had a positive impact on someone. The way we treat
others tends to be the way we are treated. By making someone’s day better you open the door for
them to do the same to you. In the short film “Make a Difference” published on YouTube by The
Anonymous Helper, a man starts doing random acts of kindness for the people he sees on his
daily route. Every day he helps the same strangers, until they are no longer strangers anymore.
By helping them, he builds a relationship with them while also making their day a little better.
Overtime he sees the results of his small acts of kindness and realizes how much of an impact
those small acts had. Knowing he made someone’s life easier or better brought him joy, which
made his life better. By making the lives of those who cared us better, we not only return the
By creating relationships with the elderly, we can improve their quality of life. I believe it
is not only the right of the elderly to be treated better than they are today, but I also believe it is
the responsibility of the younger generations to make sure their treatment changes. The stronger
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our relationships are with them, the better both groups of people are. We can put an end to the
Works Cited
Brotherton, Marcus. “Being a Good Neighbor.” The Art of Manliness, 26 Oct. 2018,
www.artofmanliness.com/articles/on-being-neighborly/.
“Grandparents Contribute to Children's Wellbeing.” University of Oxford,
www.ox.ac.uk/research/research-impact/grandparents-contribute-childrens-wellbeing#
“Make a Difference.” YouTube, uploaded by The Anonymous Helper, 27 September 2014
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUGQ-fMgVSQ.