The Importance of Connection
Playing piano was a hobby of mine. I especially enjoyed the Romantic pieces, channeling my inner Chopin as I played Impromptu No.1. Every week, I drove 15 minutes to my piano teacher, Mrs. Mendez’s house. We chatted about life and she gave me tips on how to improve my technique.
Slowly, I found myself enjoying her company and although she is no longer my piano teacher, I often think of her. Mrs. Mendez is truly an inspiration. She is a bright, 88 year old woman with two grandchildren. Her optimistic attitude and caring nature shone through in whatever she set out to accomplish.
From her, I learned the importance of connection. Although she may not know the impact she’s had on me, I will forever remember the lessons she taught me. When I was talking, Mrs. Mendez nodded and her nonverbal body language indicated she was paying attention. With her, I felt heard and understood. I valued my experiences with her.
All of us have a desire to be heard and we value human connections. This is why I decided to join Yohocare. I strongly believe in their mission of providing a platform to improve the wellbeing of seniors. I want to help other seniors feel heard like how Mrs. Mendez did with me. During this pandemic, it is easy to slip away into the abyss of feeling misunderstood or lost.
Reach out to family, meditate, look outside, take a walk around your neighborhood. Connection extends beyond human interaction. Being outside allows you to connect with nature and enjoy its serenity. Meditating once every few days (or every day if you want to!) enables you to carry out your day peacefully.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview a few people. Mrs. Mendez indirectly taught me how to create meaningful connections with people I meet and I carried those lessons with me in the interviews. I’ve included a list of tips that helped me foster a connection below:
- Pay attention: when someone’s talking to you, listen to them! People like to know that someone is interested in what they have to share and paying attention allows that person to feel valued and understood.
- Remember their name: calling someone by their name is personal. It makes them feel important and is the easiest way to create a connection with someone.
- Care about what you are doing and who you are speaking with: if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, it’s hard for the person you are interviewing to reciprocate interest. Be excited and let that shine through — you’ll likely receive more interest and higher quality responses from whoever you are interviewing!
Overall, it’s important to find a Mrs. Mendez in your life, whether that is a family member, a friend, or anyone else. You can also be that person for someone else. Although it’s an organization, Yohocare is that person for seniors. We all want to feel heard and understood.
If you want to learn more about Yohocare and its impact on the senior community, you can visit our website here!
About Shannon:
I was born and raised in San Jose and am currently a freshman attending UC Berkeley. This semester I took on the marketing/business development intern role for Yohocare. When I’m not studying or woking on Yohocare projects, you can find me whipping up food in the kitchen, soaking up the tranquility of nature, or rushing to complete my tasks the popular game Among Us with my brother!