What ‘Being Me’ means for Retirement Village residents – through photographs
Maintaining (and growing) a strong sense of self-identity comes from activities and relationships, both within and outside the retirement village.
Resident’s photographs highlight the various ways they experience personal meaning and pleasure in their daily lives—from Lou and Jill’s volunteering, Joan’s commitment to her church, Frances perfecting her cross stitch and Lynn in the gym.
What ‘Being Me’ means for Aged Care Residents – through photographs
While residential aged care is a communal environment, residents still cultivate a strong sense of their own identity through nurturing their unique personal interests, hobbies and pastimes.
For Pearl this is writing letters, poetry and short-stories; for Betty, it was meditating, knitting and playing the organ; and, for Kylie, her pleasure comes from noticing the sky, the plants and the birds.
For others, ‘being me’ is about keeping hairstyles maintained, bets placed at the races, keeping up with fashion, and sometimes it is something as simple as adding extra BBQ sauce on ‘my favourite day, scrambled eggs Wednesday’ (see Patrick’s photographs below – he loved his food and his horse racing).
From the perspective of the residents, identity comes in all forms and nurturing it remains central in their lives.
