Rachel Fuller

On this day at McCoy Adult Daycare, I was able to paint nails! It was so much fun to see all the clients get excited and enjoy the whole activity. Many of the ladies sat together and chatted as if they were at a formal nail salon, and they were so kind to us about our lack of expertise in the nail painting department. This has been one of my favorite days so far. Although it was challenging to remind the ladies to let their nails dry, they all did well-having patience and sitting still. My key takeaway from today is that no matter how unqualified I may feel, there is always a way I can serve others. I need to remind myself of this often, and not let fear get in the way.

So far my favorite experience has been getting to know each client at McCoy. During this visit, I arrived around lunchtime so I was able to chat with a few different clients before we began the Valentine's Day activities. We did a project with the clients in which we asked them to share their best Valentine's Day advice and took a picture of them for their family and friends to see. It was somewhat challenging to get all the clients involved, but in the end, it was a success and the pictures turned out cute. My key takeaway from this visit is to listen more. Most of the clients enjoy having company and telling stories, and it has been a valuable experience listening to them. I have realized I need to slow down a little bit and take time to get to know each client as long as they are eager to visit.

Today chatting on 7 cups was rather difficult. The majority of the people I talked to were very mean to me, or they only wanted to talk about inappropriate things. Although it was difficult, I did have at least one positive interaction. It is so interesting to talk with people from across the globe, yet find commonalities in our life experiences. The biggest lesson I learned today is to see people for their humanity before their problems. At the end of the day, we are all more similar than we think.