Art of Dying Art of Dying_Volume III_joomag | Page 37

chatted about our families, our friends and our backgrounds. Before I moved here, I only thought of all the things older people couldn’t do but now I’m here, I see endless possibilities. 2, which showed me just how much she went through when SORES, RESIDENT AT HUMANITAS HOME FOR THE ELDERLY ‘I see endless possibilities.’ “I really enjoy living here,” says Sores, who is one of the six students who currently has an apartment at Humanitas. “It’s such a warm and friendly place." “Living here is a win-win situation for us students. There’s a shortage of student accommodation in Holland and it’s also often very expensive but as students live here rent-free in very nice apartments, I don’t need to worry about my financial situation. And there’s always someone to talk to." “Living at Humanitas has changed how I look at older people. Before I moved here, I only thought of all the things older people couldn’t do but now I’m here, I see endless possibilities. Elderly people are just like me and my friends, only older." “Soon after I moved in, one of the members of staff asked if I would help a 91-year-old lady, Marty, with her iPad. Our iPad sessions soon developed into long conversations, where we Recently, Marty told me about her experiences in World War she was young." “To me, my friendship with this lady highlights just how worthwhile it can be to spend time with people of an older generation and to talk to them about their lives and experiences. I look at my friend and neighbour now and no longer see a 91-year-old woman – I see my good friend who has so many different aspects to her life.” WENDY GLASS has been a magazine journalist since she left school, working first on the legendary teenage magazine Jackie and then working on a selection of magazines published by DC Thomson & Co Ltd, including Annabel, Babycare & Pregnancy and My Weekly before moving, 25 years ago, into the world of freelance journalism. Wendy is proud to be a regular contributor to, amongst others, The Scots Magazine, My Weekly and The People’s Friend. Wendy lives in Kirriemuir, Scotland, a small town at the foot of the Angus Glens, with her husband, teenage daughter and two dogs. VOLUME III | 37