“It does not matter if people do not like you. Trust your intuition.”
Perceptions about how Jardima sees her beauty have changed over time, as her connection with her African heritage increases with age. She has openly rejected the Western standards of beauty that she grew up with, based on a thin body shape and Eurocentric features and hair texture. Jardima embraces her heritage and the benefits of aging, which includes a full-figured body, clothing that is culturally relative that hangs comfortably and loosely, as well as a natural hairstyle that rejects straightening chemicals and heat styling. Jardima’s world view reflects the intersections of her bi-racial, bi-cultural, and bi-ethnic African immigrant roots and the progeny of colonization.
Confidence in her ability to find solutions to life’s problems is easier with a lifetime of lived experience. Passing on that experience to help others is the reward of getting older in this lifetime. Working to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable beings is her passion. Expressing how to do that work is Jardima’s life’s purpose. Currently, criminal record expungement is the way she expresses this desire. Future endeavors will focus on the needs in Malawi, Africa when she is set to retire in seven years. Over the years, she has been working on projects in Malawi with locals there: building homes for widows, protecting people with albinism, and supporting orphans with basic necessities. She is eager to continue this work, as well as work for a Non-Governmental Organization focused on social justice issues: child brides, human trafficking, domestic violence, LGBTQIA+ rights, through the Malawi Human Rights Commission, led by her 1st cousin, Habiba Osman.
‘Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.’ -Rumi
“Beliefs and stereotypes about age have shifted over the decades, in my opinion. ‘60 is the new 50’ has been backed up by demographics on health, wellness, and aging outcomes showing improvements over decades.”
– Jardima
