The Older the Wiser... (Maddy November 4)

11/4/2019

My mother works with Hospice, an agency that helps the elderly. I was able to meet one of her clients, that turned 100 years old earlier this year. I wrote her a happy birthday letter in June,l ,because I was just amazed by her age and was curious of any advice she may be able to give me. She was impressed by the small amount of kindness I showed, and told my mom when she gave it to her that she wanted to meet me. After having my busy summer, I was able to go to Challis in August to meet this woman, Agnes. She is actually in amazing health for her age, but does have a glass eye, and is half blind in the other, but she is still kicking, walking, and is mainly independent. She talked to me about her stories, about her three husbands, her son, her experiences in the military, her ideas on racism, and I was easily able to tell she was one firecracker in her younger days. She showed me her thousands and thousands of stamps in her collections, and old photographs as well, she spoke to me about all the death she has seen and hurt from all around her. Then I finally asked her for what I had gone there for, if she had any life advice for me.

Now, before I continue with what this lady told me, my question for you is how would you feel if you lived to be one hundred years old? Does this sound appealing to you? How do you think you could do with the changes of society around you? What positive and negative things would come with being an entire century in age?
Secondly, I want you to consider the advice she gave me, process it, and then say whether or not you agree with it, why (of course), and any other thoughts and comments on it.

I wrote all the responses she gave me in my notes, so these are quotes from Agnes herself.
When asked for life advice, she told me:
"Attitude is important"
" Accept everyone." She told me soon after, "regardless of race"
"Don't let anyone encourage you to do anything you don't want to do."
" You don't have to dress up or have hair like anyone else."
"Do not take anything from any boy."
And my personal favorite, " Be friends with everyone, you'll learn a lot about the world."

I also asked if she believed in love, she told me yes, then replied with "respect.", and that was all I got out of her for that topic.

This was a pretty amazing experience for me, and I recommend and encourage all of you to ask your grandparents, great grandparents, or other elderly people you may know for a touch of life advice. You'll learn an grow more than you think sometimes.

36 Comments

Aiden

11/8/2019 09:10:51 am

Living to be 100 years old sounds almost tortuous for me. This may because most things in my young life require a lot of physical activity and strength. Obviously I’d find new hobbies and ways to find quality of life but now, in my mind, I want to be no older than 85. If one lived to 100 years old the world they live in would change immensely. The things that have happened since 1919 are shocking: The Great Depression, Prohibition, The Holocaust, World War II, the first man in the moon, Civil Rights Act, 9/11, and many sicknesses and natural disasters. You’d been alive while 18 different US presidents have been in office. You would be older than more than 99 percent of the world population. You would undoubtedly see people around you pass away many of which I’d assume were even younger than yourself. She’s seen the world we know built. She has so many decades of experience in this world I can’t help but agree with her advice. She has a wealth of knowledge and that is so amazing. The wisdom she has could undoubtably help any of us, with not even 1/5 of her years of experience and learning. I have deep respect for this woman and I’ve never met her.

Kately

11/9/2019 12:21:19 am

I agree, it would be difficult getting around and doing the things you enjoyed in your youth. Would you teach your grandchildren how to play the sports you enjoyed? I would look forward to taking my grandchildren fishing and camping, kids today hardly ever go outside, so the future generation may be even more disconnected.

Faith

11/10/2019 09:44:39 am

I agree that living to 100 could be torturous for someone. Seeing all of those awful events you mentioned would be terrible, and I couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Her advice is however very wise.

Maddy

11/10/2019 10:02:53 am

Believe it or not, Agnes agrees with the comment of living this old is tortuous. While I was visiting her, she laughed, tilted her head back and said,”never want to live to one hundred years old”. She didn’t give me any context, but there’s a million reasons that we can assume or guess about.

Brax Kauffman

11/10/2019 03:45:54 pm

I like how you brought up the physical aspect of it. Do you think there are ways that people of that age can keep physically fit.

Kately

11/9/2019 12:04:59 am

I like to believe that people who live to be 100 or older were meant to. They've lived through war and depression and seen things that most of the earth does not remember firsthand. Whatever advice they impart to the future generation serves to benefit the world that their descendants inhabit. As for what I'd do if I had the achievement of living to be 100, I'd look after my grandchildren and teach/encourage them to learn new skills for as long as I could. Agnes sounds like a wonderful woman, it must've been enlightening to hear her stories.

I especially appreciate her advice on acceptance of others, even if they might be different, she lived in a time where that was an unpopular opinion, so it's nice to hear that from her. This was a excellent topic to post about, thank you for sharing Agnes' words with us!

Faith

11/10/2019 09:46:06 am

If I were to live to 100 I would attempt to do the same. Agnes has some great advice which everyone can use.

Ezra

11/10/2019 01:59:57 pm

What you said made me relies that there would be parts of my family that don't even exist yet. Meeting them would be amazing, and like you said I could pass down all my advise. Just like Agnes.

Faith

11/10/2019 09:41:49 am

First of all, this is such a cool experience you got to take and I wish I could do something similar. However, I’m not sure if I would like to live to be 100 one day. The thought sounds very interesting, but love from friends and family is what makes me want to keep going each day, if I had to watch my sibling, parents, grandparents, cousins, significant other, etc. pass away while I continued to live, I don’t know how I would handle it. Also, I feel as if in 100 years the world will be entirely different in a bad way.
All of Agnes’ advice is very wise. Accepting everyone regardless of race is a huge thing many people are still trying to comprehend. Especially those of us who grew up in Salmon, because there is a large lack of diversity in the community. Not letting anyone encourage you to do what you don’t want to do is also extremely important. For example, society pressures every young person to attend college right after high school, even though they are unsure of what they want to do. This usually results in them attending college only to find it’s not for them, or going into a profession they dislike. Sometimes though, they are thankful for that extra push and go into a profession they love. But either way, it should always be up to you as an individual on what will make you happy. Lastly, being friends with everyone allows you to learn a lot about the world, is very true and important. Being friends with many people isn’t the goal of course, but understanding how they think about different things, where and how they grew up, and what makes them unique and strong can help you understand every other individual on this planet.

Maddy

11/10/2019 10:08:50 am

While I was visiting, I asked Agnes about a quilt she had hung up, which led to an entire story of a young woman she used to know. She told me about her mother, how they met, and many other details, and the story ended with how she was next to the hospital bed when this woman passed away, Agnes held her hand as she took her last breath. Being 100 years old, she has seen tons of death. Her parents, her husband(s), her siblings, her grandparents, and her friends. We’ve all had some sort of loss in our life, I could not imagine bearing death after death after death in my lifetime to one hundred years old.

Kately

11/10/2019 05:05:22 pm

Death is a part of life, but seeing those younger than yourself pass away is never easy. Agnes is brave to continue on this long, that woman is a blessing. I can only hope to reach that level of enlightenment.

Ezra

11/10/2019 01:57:15 pm

100 years in the future would be Epic who knows what is in store, but as you said there is the fact everyone you know could be dead. What if everyone lives to be 100 in the future, or even older. There wouldn't be that feeling of loss.

Alyssa Farnworth

11/10/2019 03:29:06 pm

Learning to live with death would be a very hard experience, but it is one that we have to learn to cope with already. Personally, I have seen a lot of death. Do you think there are any experiences that would be worth living so long for?

Brax Kauffman

11/10/2019 03:54:36 pm

I understand that being 100 years old would definitely have its downsides. What do you think are the more positives to it though.

Erykah

11/10/2019 11:48:10 am

A few years ago, my great grandmother passed away at the age of 104. Because she lived in the Philippines all her life, she didn’t know English. She also developed Alzheimer's disease. This made it even more difficult to communicate. My mother told me stories of how her grandmother was strict when she was growing up. My mom’s mother lived in America to start a new life and make more money to bring her kids to the US, who were poor and didn’t have much in the Philippines. They understood that their grandmother was harsh because she loved them, which is why they took care of her as she grew older. I would have loved asking her questions about her life and how she raised her five grandchildren by herself. I would have also asked about her family before my mom was born and if she wished she could see her great-grandchildren in the US more often.

As much as I would hate seeing my family and friends die on the journey to 100 years old, the wisdom and advice I would pass onto my grandchildren and anyone else willing to listen would make it less painful. A lot of the time, people forget how we have to learn life lessons, either the hard way or someone else’s advice. It is impossible that we begin life knowing these things, which is why I am grateful for my parents and grandparents who have built me a foundation of knowledge I will use in my future. However, changes in technology would be a challenge since it is always developing.

I love Agnes’ advice about accepting everyone. Having friends is much easier than having enemies. Hatred focuses a lot of energy away from loved ones, which, ultimately, makes life harder. Acceptance towards others leads to your own acceptance, which is one of the fundamental necessities of life.

Andy Gebhardt

11/10/2019 01:41:17 pm

I think it is encouraging that even though it was hard to communicate with your great grandmother you still learned from her. I think we should all take the opportunities to talk to our grandparents because they will not be around forever.

Brax Kauffman

11/10/2019 11:53:08 am

I believe living to one hundred years old would be a privilege. Being able to see how the work has changed around you would be an amazing thing to experience. Have the chance to meet new people from everywhere around the planet would be amazing however I understand there are some negatives to living this long. Without a doubt, the hardest thing would be having to see those around you pass away and having to deal with that sadness. While this would be extremely sad, no matter what age you live to, odds are people are going to have to deal with this and learn how to cope with it. I am sure there would still be people in your life you care about and things to do so overall I believe that the experience would most definitely be worth it.
I think that her advice was something to really take into consideration. While you have heard these types of responses your entire life it usually does not come out of the mouth of someone who has lived through so much. I believe the most important advice she gave was to not be discouraged by anyone and to do what you want to do in life. Sticking to your own path and doing what will make you the happiest has to be the best way to live. And if this is how a persons lives their life then living to one hundred years old would be an opportunity for them to continue their story.

Andy Gebhardt

11/10/2019 01:43:26 pm

The idea you mentioned of life still being worth living is a good point. While it would be so hard to see other pass away there would still be people in your life that are worth living for. A person should never just stop living because they do not think it is worth it anymore.

Aiden

11/10/2019 05:05:43 pm

I like how you say a privilege. I only looked at the negative aspects but you looked at it as a blessing.

Andy Gebhardt

11/10/2019 01:38:36 pm

The experience you described is amazing and I think we should all learn from this. A lot of times we forget how wise our grandparents and any older people are and forget to ask them advice. As far living to be 100 years old, I think it is a daunting idea. It would be a hard to see friends and family pass away. However, living so long would give you much more time to do things you want to and learn much more. That is worth the longevity. Still, living long is something we do not know if we would want it or not. The understanding of it will only come as we age.
Her advice makes a lot of sense though and reveals a lot of traits about her. Attitude is important in any situation and is makes a person able to get through hard times. Also, her advice about not letting others influence you is very important too. Overall, the advice is something every person can learn from. To me I know that I should pay more attention to what my elders say because they have been through many more years than I have and have learned much to go along with it.

Tori Weir

11/10/2019 02:09:35 pm

I find it comforting that there will be people who are older than us to give us advice. Especially from elders like Agnes because that is when others know they have a lot of wisdom. Although sometimes we do not accept the advice given to us and we do not learn from it.

Erykah

11/10/2019 07:45:15 pm

Living that long is scary to think about. Since the journey to old age is unknown, it becomes more intimidating. It makes me wonder at what age humans start to question where they will be at 100 years old.

Ezra

11/10/2019 01:53:21 pm

Living to be 100 would be an awesome opportunity, but at a cost of having to see so much and lose so many people. If I live to be 100 then that means that I have 83 more years left to do everything I have ever wanted to do. It would be hard to even fathom the amount of time I have left I am already almost 1/5 of the way there. I would like to be 100 just to see how the times have changed and to witness what the world will become. I think the transition would not be hard because it would be over such a long time. I would just change with the times. I think that Agnes has very good advise. She was alive when wars were fought, races were battling, and economical depressions was at its highest. She still has views that are positive to other people.

Tori Weir

11/10/2019 02:04:55 pm

To live so long would mean that the person has to experience the good and the bad events that will happen. The future is unknown and it is scary to think of what it holds but at the same time it is exciting. Do you think you will become tired of living so long?

Alyssa Farnworth

11/10/2019 03:21:28 pm

I agree that the gradual transition would make living easier and that it would be a privilege to live for so long. Personally, there is a lot that I want to learn and participate in before I die and that amount of time would hopefully allow for it.

Tori Weir

11/10/2019 02:00:57 pm

When I was younger my family and I would go to a retirement home and take the older people who live there to their church service. I remember every time we take them in groups to the chapel room they would tell stories about their lives or we would tell them about our lives. Overall it was a precious experience for both of us because it showed that there are people who still care about them and my family and I learned more about them.
If I lived up to 100 years old I would not know how I would deal with everything. I usually think when my time has come it will come and nothing I could do about it. People who live up to that age are dealing with it in their own way. When I get to that age I will know how to deal with it better but it is hard to say now because I am still young and will not know what I will be facing in the future. Although it would be hard to know that many people would die before you and knowing that you are the last of the few who lived through important events. While on the other hand, people who live up to that age can share their stories and get to see how the future is playing out.
Agne’s advice reminded me of how older people went through situations that we might go through. Instead of us going through a similar situation and learning the same lesson they give advice on what they learned in hopes that we do not make the same mistakes. I find it important to keep these lessons and stories in our lives so that we can live our lives with fewer mistakes.

Paige

11/10/2019 04:11:46 pm

I also feel it is important to share advice with those that are younger than us and need the life lessons. This is obviously something that we will better understand as we age, but it is good for us to realize this importance now in our lives so we can reach out to those who have gone through similar experiences.

Erykah

11/10/2019 07:21:31 pm

I think learning from our elders' stories is a huge part of the history of humanity. Ancient peoples used to carve drawings in stone to communicate their stories to future generations. Humans will continue to teach each other as long as we keep listening to one another. Hopefully, we will forever continue our stories until our demise.

Alyssa Farnworth

11/10/2019 03:17:44 pm

I think living to be one hundred years old could be both a positive and negative experience. The negatives as have been stated would be witnessing death and natural disaster etc. However, there are a lot of positive experiences that could be witnessed as well. The birth of family members, a new world of invention, traveling, etc. We cannot control all of the things that happen to us in our lives and this may shape our outlook but I believe living to be one hundred would be more a positive experience.
Personally, I don't have anyone in my life over the age of forty-one, but I believe the advice of those who have lived through so much has great value. I also believe that some people can just have bad advice. It can really depend on your core values and theirs. Agnes's advice is very good and I appreciate you sharing it with us. Agnes comes from a time where acceptance wasn't so readily given. Even now a lot of people struggle with it. Through her advice you can see she has grown a lot and learned not only from her own personal experiences but from others as well. I think we all have a lot to learn from those who are older and or wiser than us.

Paige

11/10/2019 04:07:53 pm

I did not even consider the joy of birth in the list of positives of old age. This is something that I feel grandparents and great grandparents really enjoy experiencing. Seeing all the new children entering their family, and getting to know them and provide them with life advice. I feel that is extremely rewarding.

Sabrina

11/10/2019 05:40:08 pm

I like that you mentioned that some advice can be bad. While those that are older than us usually have very secure views on the world, sometimes they don't. Should we follow the advice of those older than us simply because they've been here longer?

Paige

11/10/2019 03:58:47 pm

If I lived to be one hundred years old it would be hard. It would be difficult to live with the physical changes I undergo, and not being able to perform the way I once was able to. Another difficulty would be watching the world change around me and trying to adapt to a society different from what I used to know. However, it would be great to experience all that life has to offer for 100 years. I would love learning from the world around be and befriending as many individuals as possible. It would be a pleasure in my old age to share stories with everyone willing to listen, and give advice to those in need. I completely agree with the advice Agnes gave. I feel it is important to be friends with everyone that will allow it, accepting them and loving them. It is also important to be who you are and not let others influence who you are and who you become. Overall I feel it would be a rewarding experience to live to one hundred years old, however, I don't think I want to live to be quite that old.

Aiden

11/10/2019 05:10:11 pm

Society changing so much would definitely mess with you. It would be amazing to see the different fads and trends come and go. You’d probably be able to start to predict things better as you’d be used to the change after decades.

Sabrina

11/10/2019 06:10:45 pm

We're talking about whether or not we want to live to 100 but do we have a choice in this? Would you ever take the chance to die once you reached an age that you didn't want to be?

Sabrina

11/10/2019 05:38:30 pm

I have been able to take advantage of talking to my grandparents, who are 81 and 82, quite often because they live across the street. My grandpa doesn't act like age bothers him but is very scared to die. He loves life and wants to keep living it. My grandma on the other hand tells us grandkids to live life to the fullest while we can. She often says that her teenage years and college years before she got married were the best years of her life. She's almost a score shy of 100 years old and she has told us that she is ready to die. While that sounds depressing, I understand. Bodies just stop working and it becomes hard to enjoy the things you've been doing for years and years. I know there are ways to stay fit if you really want to, but honestly I don't see that being me. I'm going to get old and creaky and be really annoyed by it. I do not want to live to 100 years old.

Josephine

11/10/2019 09:43:34 pm

That had to have been an amazing experience. If I live to be one hundred I believe I would have to adjust to the new culture rather quickly. Generations before us have had to adjust to our culture I would in return have to do the same. I'm not sure if I would ever to be able to adjust completely. Thinking that many years in the future is a little unsettling for me because it is unknown. I know I would love to share my experiences with my family. It is fascinating listing to those much older than me now. They provide a source of living history to those willing to listen. The advice given by Agnes I found to be fascinating and very applicable to my life.

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