#alllll of it has to be accessible to them or the inaccessible places lose that quality that their memory and identity bring

[ashes-in-a-jar]

I went to a talk about urban planning from an elderly people perspective and there was one thing that stuck with me that changed my view of people

The speaker was talking about how old folk can't and shouldn't be put into one singular group of people because it's impossible to find any two old people who can be categorized into the same basket because of how much life they've been through and how many branches apart they are from each other. Like, grouping them all as *old* is a disservice to them and who they consider themselves to be and to plan a city properly for old folk that has to be taken into consideration

It just struck me how the longer you live the more the infinity of differences, choices and circumstances, grows bigger and bigger and while younger people can still be grouped into different categories more easily, it's only because their short amount of memories and experiences hasn't pulled them apart to be considered so vastly different as our elders.

Being old is a lonely place to be because of it but there is something empowering about how unique you become from your specific experiences and how each and every old person you meet has so much essence in the set of years called their life, you'll never find someone like them again