It’s been a long day for me. My day started with feeling nervous because, in my graduate school class, I was assigned a topic I’m not familiar with: engaging social issues in service learning. I have doubts about my presentation, as the topic was a bit overwhelming.
In my presentation,I shared some photographs I captured last Friday, a picture of an 87-year-old woman who is my neighbor. We often have short conversations. I asked her why no one was assisting her, and she told me that she is alone because her son and grandson are busy with parties and friends. They don’t seem to care about her situation.
A question crossed my mind as I reflected on her situation: Will I experience this when I reach her age? Will everyone abandon me, too?
I tried to open a conversation with her, but it seems that she has a hearing problems too. It is heartbreaking to see an 87-year-old woman with health problems, yet no one seems to care. This is an alarming issue, and we need to take better care of the elderly. It is our responsibility to look after them as they grow older, we need to love them. In my class, I emphasized that the younger generation today often focuses only on short-term happiness.
We need to integrate service learning into our curriculum to expose the younger generation to the potential consequences of blindly following trends on social media. Trends like partying, smoking, and other vices are often promoted by social media influencers, and these behaviors can have a harmful impact. By incorporating service learning, we can help raise awareness about these issues and encourage young people to make more thoughtful decisions.
