Inspiration to Start a New Adventure
Ayushi D., Amador Valley High School Chapter President, shares stories and lessons learned from the time she spent with seniors and how these connections inspired her to pursue new passions.
My experience with GlamourGals taught me the importance of determination while also showing me nail polish can reflect perspective. When I first joined GlamourGals, I was a freshman. I did not know what I wanted to do in the future. As other freshmen were rushing to join the robotics club, Model UN, or DECA, I was confused. However, when I saw the booth for GlamourGals, I knew I had to join. I was good at painting nails, so why not? In addition to this, I love painting both of my grandmas’ nails, so GG felt like a perfect fit.
On my first senior visit, my eyes were opened. I met so many different seniors, and the experience was completely new. Throughout the years, I have learned more and more from each visit. On one of my most memorable visits, I talked to a lady who insisted on wearing neon orange nail polish, a color as bold as her. As I applied her polish, she told me about her life in the Philippines and how she fled to the U.S. during the Vietnam War, finding a supportive community there. She told me never to fear following my passions and putting in hard work, because I will find support along the way. Inspired by this, I decided to join Girls Who Code, since I was interested in coding and found camaraderie. By the end of my freshman year, I started teaching at our chapter to help other girls gain the support I received.
When COVID-19 forced GG online, I met a 103-year-old lady. Born during the Spanish Flu, COVID-19 was not her first pandemic. She spent her life traveling around the country and experienced every historical event from the 1920s to now. When I asked her how to live a long life, her response was hopeful: “Take new paths and adventures.” Her words encouraged me to try to make the most out of my experiences because life is uncertain. Sometimes, growth needs guidance, and my GlamourGals experiences guided me to the version of myself I am today. When I look back, my happiest and most successful work was when I was helping my local senior community, seeing the seniors enjoy my company while they saw me grow.
GlamourGals is a vital part of our community. Pleasanton, which has a higher retiree population, depends on its senior citizens. However, without GlamourGals, the younger population rarely interacts with the senior citizens–Pleasanton would be disconnected. GlamourGals directly connects seniors with high schoolers. In addition to this, many seniors I have interacted with rarely spend time with their families and thus, never get to see their kids and grandkids. As a result, they become detached from society. With Amador Valley’s GlamourGals chapter, we get to visit the senior homes and centers and interact with these seniors. On many instances, our volunteers have updated the seniors with trends and news, making them feel more youthful and happier. In addition to this, the seniors we volunteer with are both residents of the senior home or retirees who come to meet people at the senior center. Thus, GG is making an impact on not just the residents in the senior home but the larger senior population in Pleasanton. Our chapter members create connections and bonds with the seniors. After each visit, we always hear about how much the seniors enjoyed their time from activity coordinators, and we know that GlamourGals is truly important to the seniors.
