A Terrifying Realization From Working a Year at a Nursing Home
Do you risk postponing what you love?
In the fall of 2019, I tried to make it as a full-time writer. Half a year later, I was broke; self-employment ruined me.
The money had burned faster than imagined, and I desperately needed a way to pay the bills. I didn’t want to give up too much of my time, however, because writing was what I set out to do. Something like a part-time job would be ideal, allowing me just enough freedom to continue tasting the writer’s lifestyle.
I applied for several jobs, and was eventually hired at a nursing home. Upon mentioned this to others, many implied I could learn a lot from the residents, them having a lot of life-experience and all. While I hadn’t given it much thought myself, I believed it to be true.
As I continued to work there (enjoying it more than I thought I would), I kept that idea in my mind. And sure enough, from some of the residents, I learned little nuggets of wisdom. However, my biggest lesson didn’t come from any resident in particular, but it came from observing the collective fate: dementia.
Most of the residents had it bad — memory-loss, speech-impairment, disorientation. Now, while seeing it in the older residents was unfortunate enough, seeing it in the younger…
