During one of my conversations with a student, he was describing people he had been observing. His perspective surprised me. Sharing a few aspects of our conversation!

He is a college going student, who volunteers at temples, hospitals, libraries and senior citizen communities. Some of his observations about aging seemed quite accurate.

1. There is a kind of ammonia smell around people in hospitals and/or old age homes. The pee-smell around them is a distinctive give away.
2. Their breath starts smelling different. Some call it ketosis breath, some call it fruity breath, standing near them becomes difficult.
3. The skin on their legs is quite shiny, although dry and they ask for a lot of moisturizer. However, it does not help.
4. Their hair is quite dry and stringy. There is a difference between curly or wavy hair and hair not cared for, and it is the latter.
5. Skin is dry and scaly, and I have wondered whether they have anyone looking at them to tell them how they look.
6. Amazon / UPS or shipping boxes that have not been disposed off lie around the home.
7. Unprocessed mail clutters their living room and kitchen tables.
8. They have many friends in their groups, but not many who they can open up about how they are feeling emotionally.
9. Something in their grocery list is missing and becomes the reason why they could not make a proper meal or eat one.
10. They become quite specific about the food they prefer eating, that works with their routines.

We had a lengthy conversation about what was generic across diverse groups and specifically in some communities.

What was surprising to me was the interest the college student showed towards observing human behavior. That genuinely stood out.

In the day and age of competitiveness, here was someone who was observing human behavior in his interactions and adapting to their needs while communicating and interacting with them.

He shared his dream project and I wish him all the very best for his dream to come true! Look forward to writing about it as he progresses with it!

Every single aspect he has observed is a different problem, and requires a different solution, for every individual. Any combination of two of these observations would require a different solution for different groups of people. Now, whoever reads it comes with their own story in their mind about how they relate to these observations and how they resolved it for someone or are dealing with it for someone else.

Our solutions are driven by our thought processes & our environment. What would you do?