Capstone Journal #1
9/24 Thursday
I have been doing a little bit of digging in what pulling off my Capstone would consist of, which is gonna be hard to do due to COVID-19, but It’s the Capstone I want to do so I’m going to give it my all no matter what, because it’s still possible for me to do it, it’s just going to be a lot harder but a little challenge never hurt anybody right?
9/25 Friday
Since it’s gonna be a little harder to get access to elderly people in homes and nursing offices, I’m thinking I start with some people in my family, but at the same time I’m still trying to gain access to be able to talk to some people in nursing homes, whether it’s through video call or they actually let me go talk to them in person, in person would make it easier for me to monitor the behavior of the elderly people I speak with before and after the conversations, but a call is safer for them, seeing as there is a global pandemic and elderly people have weakened immune systems. If I do only get access to video calls, I would have to get in contact with nurses that work in the same place as well, and ask them to monitor behavior of the person I spoke with before and after we talked, and update me whenever something changes.
9/26 Saturday
I’ve just had a huge realization! My mom has worked at so many different nursing homes, I could probably talk to her and see if she has any connections that would make it easier for me to see the edlerly people, while keeping them safe in the process. If that works, that means that instead of having of a nurse monitor the elderly person I talk to, I could keep an eye on them myself, and talking to them in person would not only be easier, but these people don’t usually have many people to talk to, which can cause depression and loneliness, so for me to step in and become someone they can talk to almost whenever they want, not only will it make them happier and less depressed, but it would improve their health and mental stability, which are usually not the best in elderly people.
Capstone Journal #2
Since the start of this entire school year, I’ve learned many things about myself and about school. I’ve learned that the school system does NOT care about if you are actually learning what is going on, but they are more worried about if you are getting a “good grade” or not. When I say that I mean nothing towards the teachers, because they’re the ones that genuinely do care, or at least some of them do, and we appreciate the ones that do, but the HPSS always preaches to us about how they’re getting us ready for the real world, but if that’s the case, then why don’t I know how to do some of the most important things you need to do in daily life? Why do I not know how to pay a bill? Why do I not know how to avoid falling into debt? I understand this is what parents are for, but if they want to throw in our face how they’re getting us ready for the real world, then teach us real world things and stop teaching me how to graph a polynomial.
As for Capstone, I really think this entire project is hard, and you suffer if you slip, but in the end it will all be worth it, though sometimes I do feel it’s more “tradition” than experience. Capstone does make you extend yourself into the real world and it takes you all the way out of your comfort zone, but it really is one of the things I can say you do in high school that is actually preparing you for the real world. I’ve been falling behind on my Capstone, and that’s not good at all, but I will definitely be trying my hardest not to slip again because this is something I have to do on my own, no matter how much help I reach out for, in the end, I am the one who has to put in the work to make sure this Capstone is done and I walk that stage come June. I haven’t gotten around to actually doing any field work that I can record for my Capstone, which is another example of me falling behind, but I have to pick it up and I will because no one else is gonna pick it up for me.
Capstone Journal #3
11/22
In this month I learned, Capstone is not something you can fall behind on, not even in the slightest. It’s a very complicated process and is especially difficult while try to maintain other classes, time management makes it a little easier but sometimes I feel like with the weight of Capstone and other class projects, there’s barely any time for a social life, between being in your google meets, doing homework from other classes, doing projects from other classes, and still working on your Capstone project along with those others, you really do not get much time for a social life, which I feel is unfair since we are teenagers who are at a young adult age. I haven’t gotten any field work in yet, I’m still kind of behind on the research paper and some other stuff that I have to catch up on first. I haven’t gotten any field work in yet, I’m still kind of behind on the research paper and some other stuff that I have to catch up on first. As of right now, I have been trying to get inside connections in nursing homes to find ways to communicate with the elderly people inside these homes, but I haven’t really had much luck yet , but I will continue to look at nursing homes first and if not I will definitely find a backup plan.
Journal #4
12/12
I’ve realized that talking to people in nursing homes is a lot harder than I thought, and it’s just really hard to get access to these people. Mrs. Bout gave me an idea though, she once recommended the opportunity for me to talk to her parents, and I’ve been thinking, what If I talk to some of my friend’s grandparents ? Most of them probably fit the age group, and the access to talk to them wouldn’t be hard. Whenever I do couples, after I have conversations with one of them, I can ask the other if their mood has changed and if their energy level has been a little better. My mentor has also recommended I take this route, as the nursing home she works at isn’t exactly complying with what my Capstone is asking for.
12/24
So today is the first day I’ve gotten the chance to actually talk to one of my friend’s grandparents. Today, I talked to Alexa Doyle’s grandmother Joanie and her grandfather Harry. They both are 2 of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, right away, I had no senses of discomfort with them, they were really open and nice straight away, told me about things they experienced when they were younger and the types of families they were raised in, and things that were around back then that aren’t around now. It was such a cool experience to talk about such a long time ago without reading it straight from a History book. The stories felt so genuine and grabbing, almost makes me wish I grew up in that time period sometimes, because life was just a lot more simple and less problematic, besides racism at this time obviously.
Capstone Journal #5
1/17
I talked to even more grandparents now. Not only have I talked to Alexa’s grandparents , I’ve now talked to Michael Infante’s grandparents, Jacob Gonzalez’s grandparents, I even talked to the lady Jane from my job again. Talking to each and every one of these people was a great and a real learning experience, not only is it different perspectives about the same time period, but you really start to learn the difference between then and now. These conversations are also not only benefiting me, but it’s benefiting them. For an example, after I talked to Joanie, I reached out to her husband later on, and he the proceeded to tell me himself that she’s been better, she’s more active, she even took their old record player out of the basement and played the song from their wedding, which he said she hasn’t done in almost 30 years. To know that just having a simple conversation with someone of that age group about their past can boost their mood in such a positive way
1/29
Today is the last day of the 2nd marking period, and I’ve been trying to improve my site, as well as complete my ePortfolio. It’s sad to know that I won’t have Mrs. Boutilier as a teacher anymore, though I can always just reach out to her any time. I’m also trying to get pictures of the grandparents I’ve spoken to, but I definitely want to talk to more grandparents, this project is not only fun, but it truly is one of the best learning experiences a kid my age can get in such a tough time as COVID-19 prohibits a lot of big learning opportunities in daily life.
Capstone Journal #6
2/14 Sunday
Today is Valentine’s Day, and I decided to reach out to the elderly people I have already talked to, because I have mentioned before, some of them reported cognitive increase in their wife/husband, energy upbringings, and all around a better mood. I have spoken to Michael’s grandparents Dominic and Ann-Marie. I spoke to Anne-Marie one on one, and she told me that in past years, they usually don’t do much for Valentine’s Day, as they’ve been together for so long it’s not as exciting because every day they share their love for each other. She told me that this morning, he woke her up with breakfast in bed and brought her a really big bouquet of flowers. She sounded so genuinely happy and excited, as if she was getting her husband back, though she never lost him. She said that ever since the times me and him talked, all he does now is do stuff he used to do when he was younger, and even looking to get a car from the 70’s and his response was “leave me alone, it makes me feel young again!” When he said this I burst out laughing, but on the inside it warmed my heart. It warmed my heart to know I brung a level of energy to his life that’s making him reminisce on his younger self and appreciate life more as a whole.
2/21 Sunday
I am well over the required amount of field work hours needed for Capstone, but I still reach out to these elderly people and talk to some of them to see how things have been since the conversations I had with them, and It became more than just a project for me, I really did love talking to these people, especially when I realized it was having a positive impact on their daily lives, inside and out.