Aging is an unavoidable part of life that begins at conception and ends with death. According to our text book, “Aging & Diversity” aging is defined as “the developmental process that occurs as a person lives over time”. The aging process differs from person to person ranging from people who are fairly independent with minor health issues to people who are completely dependent with major health issues. The person that I chose to interview is an Asian American woman who is a very dear friend of my family. For the purpose of this interview paper, I will name this person Ava. I have known Ava since I was in Kindergarten. I believe my mom met Ava at a Sacramento Library back in 1983. They connected due to their Hawaiian cultural backgrounds.
…show more content…
Her husband Frank decided to join the National Guard to avoid being drafted into the military. Ava said, Sacramento was the first place where she start to feel discriminated against. According to Schaefer, discrimination is “the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons”. When Ava and her husband Frank moved to Sacramento, one of the first things they did was look for an apartment to rent in midtown Sacramento. While apartment hunting, Ava and Frank found an apartment they really liked but they got denied more than once & the landlord kept saying “we’re sorry we rented the place”. Being from Hawaii, Ava never thought twice about what was happening. They ended up renting an apartment next to the complex that denied them and for 2 months, every time she’d walk by that apartment complex the sign was still there. Ava then realized, that the landlord most likely didn’t rent them the apartment because of their ethnicity. Ava’s feelings weren’t hurt, because she shrugged it off & moved on. “That’s life”, she told me. As soon as Ava and her husband got settled, Ava started working as a 3rd grade teacher at John Moore elementary School in Sacramento. It wasn’t long into the school year when Ava experienced another historical event. On November 22nd 1963, it was reported that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. At this time, …show more content…
For Ava and Frank having children was never a question. Ava loved working with children, which is partly why she became a teacher. Having her own children would add a different level of love to her life. Ava and Frank ended up having four beautiful children. Two sons and two daughters. Ava and Frank taught their children to be humble, kind, loving and compassionate people. Ava installed morals and values into her children from a young age. Ava gave the same motherly advice to her children about being prejudice that her parents installed in her as a child. This advice was; to never judge a person based on skin color and to always treat everyone with respect. Her children applied this advice very well. When Avas oldest daughter was in kindergarten, she pointed to a classmate and said; “Look mommy at the girl with the white sweater, she’s my friend”. As it turned out, this girl was the only African American person in Ava’s daughter’s class. Ava’s daughter didn’t care about skin color, she liked her new friend because they got along very well. When Ava’s youngest daughter was in the 2nd grade, Ava decided to return to teaching. In 1984, Ava took a job at John Cabrillo elementary school in the Southland park area of Sacramento. Ava ended up working at John Cabrillo for 15 years. She taught kindergarten for 7 years, 3rd grade for 4 years and 1st grade for 4 years. In 1999 Ava was forced to retire from teaching to help care for her son
Her husband Frank decided to join the National Guard to avoid being drafted into the military. Ava said, Sacramento was the first place where she start to feel discriminated against. According to Schaefer, discrimination is “the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons”. When Ava and her husband Frank moved to Sacramento, one of the first things they did was look for an apartment to rent in midtown Sacramento. While apartment hunting, Ava and Frank found an apartment they really liked but they got denied more than once & the landlord kept saying “we’re sorry we rented the place”. Being from Hawaii, Ava never thought twice about what was happening. They ended up renting an apartment next to the complex that denied them and for 2 months, every time she’d walk by that apartment complex the sign was still there. Ava then realized, that the landlord most likely didn’t rent them the apartment because of their ethnicity. Ava’s feelings weren’t hurt, because she shrugged it off & moved on. “That’s life”, she told me. As soon as Ava and her husband got settled, Ava started working as a 3rd grade teacher at John Moore elementary School in Sacramento. It wasn’t long into the school year when Ava experienced another historical event. On November 22nd 1963, it was reported that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. At this time, …show more content…
For Ava and Frank having children was never a question. Ava loved working with children, which is partly why she became a teacher. Having her own children would add a different level of love to her life. Ava and Frank ended up having four beautiful children. Two sons and two daughters. Ava and Frank taught their children to be humble, kind, loving and compassionate people. Ava installed morals and values into her children from a young age. Ava gave the same motherly advice to her children about being prejudice that her parents installed in her as a child. This advice was; to never judge a person based on skin color and to always treat everyone with respect. Her children applied this advice very well. When Avas oldest daughter was in kindergarten, she pointed to a classmate and said; “Look mommy at the girl with the white sweater, she’s my friend”. As it turned out, this girl was the only African American person in Ava’s daughter’s class. Ava’s daughter didn’t care about skin color, she liked her new friend because they got along very well. When Ava’s youngest daughter was in the 2nd grade, Ava decided to return to teaching. In 1984, Ava took a job at John Cabrillo elementary school in the Southland park area of Sacramento. Ava ended up working at John Cabrillo for 15 years. She taught kindergarten for 7 years, 3rd grade for 4 years and 1st grade for 4 years. In 1999 Ava was forced to retire from teaching to help care for her son