Intergenerational – Uplift Notes

Seriously Silly

Written on September 1, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

When I started working on this intergenerational project over 3 years ago, I thought that everything had to be super “deep” and philosophical. But as I was testing the Uplift Notes Toolbox, one of the notes I read was: “I learned that Serena and I both liked potatoes and bread as children, even though we are from different cultural backgrounds.” Another read: “I learned what takoyaki was for the first time today,” and a participant told me that these activities were “9 and 3/4 fun!”. Case in point: Not everything needs to be serious!...

I remembered…

Written on August 10, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

The other day, I was chatting with *Patricia. While we discussed some of our past travels and highlighted fond memories, she recounted her trip to Sacramento, pointing out that she didn’t really remember what happened that weekend, the restaurants and tours all a whirlwind, but she said, “I remembered who I was with.” As a young person, this really hit home, a powerful reminder of the lifelong value of friendships, where conversations and the sense of belonging last long after the destination has faded away. *the name of interviewee has been changed to respect their privacy

Dance

Written on July 10, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

As an aspiring musician, I definitely have my days where I wonder if it’s all worth it: the scraggly notes that tangle themselves together as you stumble through a new piece, the long practice hours, the callouses, the nervousness before concerts–what does it all stand for? Well, after speaking with *Laurie, a former dancer and musician, I learned that music is powerful because it can provide a playful escape from reality. She said that “ Music makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again. I used to be a dancer, and I can’t dance anymore, but music lets me go new places and feel like I can...

Innovation is like a Slingshot

Written on June 14, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

Innovation is like a sling shot. Sometimes, you need to go 1 step backward to go 10 steps forward. Initially, as a bright-eyed and bold “Gen Z-er”, I thought that “games” would be the panacea for intergenerational connection. However, since I myself am not an older person, I need to be very careful of my blind spots. This is the case for any time when you’re designing for a group that you’re not part of. Consult experts and approach with humility. So I decided to table the idea and go back to problem finding. At first, I worried that I would be...

Why is there singing?

Written on May 27, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

My grandfather was one of the first participants in the early iterations of the Uplift Notes Toolbox. For context: he is a wise man of few words, and has a calm and grounding presence. One of our prompt cards said “What is a song that you listen to when you’re happy?”– And to my surprise, my grandfather started singing, not a line, but several minutes! In my 20 years of being alive, I had never heard him sing until that day. There was a childlike joy that was new, yet familiar. His words oscillated in a mix of English and Taiwanese, and although I didn’t...

Want to start something? Don’t Start something.

Written on April 10, 2023. Posted in Intergenerational.

If you want to start something, don’t start something (right at the beginning). Problems propel solutions. Trying to rush and make a solution without proximity to the core issues, is like trying to make pizza without a dough–it’ll be a saucy mess! If you want to “start” something, you should first spend some time within an existing organization, because it will give you a better understanding of the industry, pain points, etc. For example, in high school, I was interested in working with elderly, but didn’t try to start a project right at the beginning....