Lauren Sweeny
Human Socialization
Overstreet
Accessible Date
Assignment
3/18/13
My
Date with Michaela
For my date I asked my friend Michaela to go out with me.
Michaela has lupus so when it is very cold, she has to use a walker because her
joints get very stiff and swell and it is painful for her. We decided that we
would go to dinner at La Bamba off of Jiles road in Kennesaw. When we got to
the restaurant, I immediately noticed that crowding
was an issue. Since it was a Friday night, the restaurant was busy and it was
difficult for Michaela to maneuver to our seat without having to say “excuse me”
a few times. Michalea is a very
charismatic so she made the situation of crowding very clear to everyone, let
us just say she was hungry and everyone knew it. The hostess chose a booth for
us and that is when the concept of
adaptability became apparent to me, there was nowhere to put Michaela’s
walker without it being in the middle of the isle where people were walking
through. Since the restaurant was busy, there were no available tables, where
it would have been much more convenient for her to put her walker aside. The
hostess put her walker against the wall by the bathrooms, Michaela seemed fine
with is but I felt that it really affected her accessibility. We then ordered some queso, with jalepenos of
course, and had a good time laughing and telling stories about work. I had the
carnitas dinner and Michaela had the special #4, burritos and enchiladas or
something like that.
After dinner, the waitress brought Michaela her walker
from where it was placed, and we headed out to go watch our friends play
tennis. I drove to the tennis courts and there was already a match going on.
When we got there, sociality became
very involved. Our friend Becca helped Michaela get to the top of the bleachers
so that she did not have to drag her walker up to the top. Everyone was very
helpful to Michaela and made it known that she was not an inconvenience. Since
Michalea does not always have to use her walker, she was annoyed with it at
this point. Her activity showed me
that she was frustrated with her joints being painful and stiff. We watched a few
games of tennis and it was freezing outside so we decided to leave. Michaela
has a lot going on in her family right now so she asked if we could go
somewhere with privacy and talk
about it. Being her friend, of course I was
willing to let her talk to me about her personal life.
We went to my house where legibility was much easier for her then at the restaurant and
tennis courts. Michalea and I sat on the couch and talked for a good few hours.
She talked about how her parents are fighting a lot about money and she feels
like it is partially her fault because of her illness. She was upset because
lupus really breaks down her immune system and she has to get hospitalized a
lot. I tried to make her feel better that it is not her fault, but then again I
have never been in a situation like hers. I feel like she definitely found comfort in me when we talked about it.
It was late at this point so I took Michaela home and thanked her for our good
time. She is a great friend and I am lucky to have her around.
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