Sandra’s Story: Singing Through Life at 72
"...be who you are and just let your inner beauty come forth, come through and be the person you are. "
At 72, Sandra’s absolute favorite thing in the world is singing.
She sings in her Church choir, as she’s walking down the street, and even in the hallways of the school where she was once a teacher.
Watch the video to hear her story.
Video Transcript:
I'm Sandra. I am 72-years-old.
I feel satisfied about my confidence level as opposed to when I was younger, content, and happy to be who I am.
I think my favorite thing to do is to sing. I love singing. I sing in my church choir, I sing in the shower, I sing when I'm walking. When I was a school teacher, oh, I sang all the way up and down the hallways, really.
And, if somebody says a word, gives me one word, a song will come into my mind, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Did you like that? I think my favorite kind of music is gospel music. I really enjoy that and I love rock and roll music.
Well, I think I got pretty positive messages from my mother.
Just basically to be who you are and just let your inner beauty come forth, come through and be the person you are. You gain it by remembering what you were taught as a young person. The values that your parents, that your church taught you and then you incorporate them into your life, you try to live it, and then you teach it to the younger generation, to your children, to your grandchildren.
Well, I have four. The oldest is 19, the youngest is 6, and Renee's two in between are 13 and 17 years old. This past summer I took them to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, we have a timeshare there. And, just to kind of know what they are experiencing as they're growing as young people, as teenagers, and the things that they face today and just to try to be a positive example to them.
Well, "pro" to me means "for." For age. Yeah, I'm here, you know. I'm vital, I'm vibrant, I can still do certain things and I'm gonna continue to do that as long as I can.
I have a lot of acquaintances, but I have one good friend that I can talk to personal things about, and that's a wonderful thing to have. Sometimes I need to listen more. I'm a chatty person sometimes, but she's the kind of person that is a good listener and I can talk to her and tell her things and she will understand them and I appreciate that about her. We go to breakfast, we go to lunch sometimes, we'll have a dinner every now and then, we'll go on trips together and she's just the kind of person I would trust with personal things.
It's important to listen because you learn that way. You can always learn something new, always. We don't know everything and this particular person is such a listener. She just has that spirit about her and every time we meet, I said, "Today, I'm gonna listen to her heart and what she wants to share," because a lot of times I have so many things I want to share.
And so it's a process. We don't get there overnight even at 72. So, it's all a learning process. So, we listen and we're listened to and I think that's very special.
Video Highlights:
0:03 Feels very satisfied with her confidence
0:14 Her favorite thing to do: Singing
0:28 If somebody gives her a word, she has a song
0:44 Message from her mother: Be who you are
1:15 Being an example to her four grandchildren
1:44 What being “pro-age” means to her
1:57 Her best friend = the good listener
2:58 Learning is a process, even at 72