Discussion Journal #3

        Another week gone (Sep 16 -Sep 20), and more knowledge acquired. This weeks discussions were on topics like diversity within race, and the impact of a persons age on there ability to do recreation. I found the second topic particularly fascinating. During the week while I was reading it really made me think about the people in my family. How much recreation and how leisure time each of them have, and how old they are. In our reading "Changes in leisure behavior over the life span" there was a graph showing participation in recreation and leisure declining as the participants age increases. Looking at my own family I don't necessarily see the same results that the graph depicts. While my younger siblings do participate in many more physically demanding activities, my grandparents spend just as much time if not more doing the things they enjoy. I am unsure if the chart would look the same if the data used was from more current times.
        Despite how the chart looks and my feelings on the mater the fact is that if not in the present then in the recent past it was true that older people tended to do less. The idea of that makes me very sad, and makes me want to ensure that within the lives of the people I know and care about that they continue to participate in the activities that make them happy. While in class discussing the same issue, we talked about how children are still developing balance even into their teen years. I believe that just as children participate in activities to increase their ability's, the older generations should be maintaining their ability's through participation in group events and activities.
        Based on all I have learned about in class and from reading, I realize that as I grow older and as my parents grow older it is important to ensure our health stays well both mentally and physically. Recently I downloaded one of those mind puzzle game applications because I now understand that if I don't continue to challenge my brain and body then as I get older they will both become weaker. I plan to continue to challenge my self as often as possible.I also think I will challenge my mom and sisters to start doing the same so we can grow old and happy together, continuing to do the activities we love long into the future.