The Best Way to Make Someone Smile

Deniz G, a volunteer from Vanderbilt University, speaks about how joyful the seniors she spends time with are and the advice they give her.

The best part of being a GlamourGals volunteer is the ability to bring smiles to people's faces. After becoming more familiar with how monotonous senior home living can be, I have become more appreciative of my role as a GG volunteer in providing experiences of novelty, especially for the residents who do not regular visitors.

Even more so than the smiles and smiling with their eyes, I absolutely adore the gems of life advice the residents give. For example, one of my favorite ladies is so at peace with herself and her personality, even though she in a nonagenarian. A lot of people think of old people as just "old," forgetting that they were once just like us and have passions, hopes, dreams, and spunk. She, and some of the other residents, remind me to never forget those pieces of my personhood. It doesn't matter that we will look old and be physically aged, because we are still the same person inside and we should appreciate all that life has to offer during all stages of life.

It is this kind of life lesson that I treasure, which I never would have gotten had I not started volunteering with GG. In short, my favorite part of GG is how it has made me appreciate life more, be more confident with myself, and of course, the best way to make someone smile is to smile first.