In order to analyze the progression and acceptance of aging in a certain individual, it is vital to take into account their earliest life experiences which occurred in their childhood. Not only do the occurrences and lifestyle in past childhood reveal great insight into the generational differences the seniors of today experienced, but they shape up the personality and values of that individual. Values instilled in childhood may very well remain present in aging seniors, and reflect and affect the way said individual feels about his/her aging. Therefore, for interview two, I chose to focus on my father’s experiences during his youth, from earliest age until later teen years.
When I began to conduct the interview, I felt a bit concerned because I felt that the questions I was asking were not being answered with much depth. Therefore, I changed the structure with which I asked questions a bit, by further asking questions after his initial answer to lead him into clarifying his thoughts and …show more content…
Such as in week four’s lecture, “Changing Markers of Aging,” the concept that there is a first age, second age, third age, etc. is complicated to apply to my father’s childhood and early adulthood. First age is noted as the representation for age and experiences before working life, and second age classifies the age in which individuals routinely work. My father however, growing up in a differing culture than that usually found in America, seems to have his first and second age categories interlaced amongst one another. My father’s second age, or working age, didn’t begin at the usual age, but at the age of seven, when he was expected and given large responsibility in maintaining and up keeping his father’s ranch. This was due to the mostly avoided concept of formal education in my father’s culture, in which men were expected to start working at the earliest age