Reflection Of My Advocacy Project Requirement

Experiences have a momentous effect on learning, by physically engaging in an activity allows one to connect their own feelings to the actual concept at hand. When learning a topic relates to the internal experiences of the student it leaves a long-lasting impact. An impact so strong that can result in motivation and one’s own initiative to make a difference. I experienced this strong emotion when I attended the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event on October 11 in Atlantic City. My reason for deciding to walk to fulfill my advocacy project requirement was because I lost my grandmother to the disease a couple of years ago. My grandmother lived in Portugal and I was only able to see her every two years before her passing. I did not know much about the disease and seeing her only during the later stages of the illness I was not able to really grasp what was going on. I knew taking part in this occasion would help me comprehend what happened to her and do my part to create awareness for others like me. Thus, I was able to enhance my understanding on Alzheimer’s disease by integrating all the information I received from the advocates at the walk with my own personal experiences I had with my grandmother.
Furthermore, taking part in this event significantly helped me create somewhat of a closure and acceptance of my grandmother’s passing. In the beginning, it was extremely difficult because I was overwhelmed with grief. It was tough at first being surrounded by the discussion of the disease that took my grandmother away from my family and I. However, the turning point for me was when they were giving out different colored pinwheel flowers that represented different things. I took a purple one because of my lost loved one and just seeing so ma...

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...upport the fight to end this disease. In fact, another significant point during the walk was when we reached the halfway mark there were bystanders asking why we were walking. We told them this event encourages awareness on Alzheimer’s disease. They were so intrigued by this idea they decided to walk back as well. Having the opportunity to help create this awareness that is so much needed was amazing. My goal is to start actively fundraise and participate in local events. This assignment was much more than a project to me, I had this past experience that I did not know how to explain but with the information I got from the walk gave me the motivation to research even more. I did not know how much I needed this closure with my grandmother’s passing but now that I have it, I am able to move on and continue to make a difference bringing awareness to Alzheimer’s disease.