by Anne Botsford
Introduction
The music of The Orchestra Now (TŌN) first drew me to Bard, which is only 45 minutes from Poughkeepsie, where I live. I’d previously traveled by train for two hours to NYC for my essential music, but I attended TŌN concerts a few times with friends. In addition to the musical programs, I discovered that whatever the season we attended, the Fisher Center itself, the magnificent grounds and environs of the campus, and the enthusiasm of the audiences, musicians, and students stirred me with delight.
On one evening at a concert intermission, my friend, Nina Lynch, who lives in Rhinebeck and has been a Bard LLI member for years, shared her enthusiasm for the classes she was taking: “Wide-ranging, stimulating, timely classes with depth, taught by passionate experts: classes on the Fairy Tale Experience, music taught by Joan Towers, Indigenous People, the history of Russia, the Supreme Court, Alice Walker’s novels. So many, the list goes on,” she enthused.
First Try
I promptly entered my name in the 2023 Bard membership lottery, which she cautioned me had many more applicants than openings. She was right, and I was crestfallen when I failed to secure a place that first year, even more so as I was learning from the LLI website and newsletter about the many perks of being an LLI member. (See the article The Perks of LLI Membership in the October 2023 Newsletter)
Joining and Registering
In the summer of 2024, I received an email announcing my acceptance and was as thrilled as if I were a high school student accepted into the college of my choice. In the on-campus orientation program a few weeks later, I received coaching from my assigned mentor on how to increase my chances of successfully registering for the courses I wanted to take.
As soon as the day and time of registration arrived, I hovered over my computer to practice and prime myself on securing a seat in these three classes:
1) Hiking at Minnewaska, because I love hiking there but hadn’t found anyone who shared my enthusiasm and had a better sense of direction than I,
2) Moving Smarter, Not Harder, which I selected because I wanted to increase my flexibility and balance, and
3) Writing Memoirs and Legacy Letters, because although I’d begun to write my memoirs, I longed for some support and feedback.
When I succeeded in registering for all three classes, I felt I’d won a second lottery.
Transitions and Continuity
Talking with other new members at the orientation program, I learned that many of us, including me, had recently made major, challenging transitions in our lives, such as retiring and relocating to be closer to adult children, assuming a caregiver role with a family member, pursuing a lifelong dream of painting, gardening, reading Moby Dick, or simply belonging to a community where we feel at home. Also, I think we shared a sense of excitement and anticipation of a new beginning in our lives.
In the few months since orientation, I’ve observed that Bard LLI welcomes, encourages, and values our participation and volunteering in essential organizational roles, in which we can apply our life experiences, knowledge, and skills. These benefit the organization and simultaneously foster successful life transitions for us, providing what the psychologist Erik Erickson called “continuity” for our sense of self, competence, and integrity. As an example, I volunteered to be a member of the Communications Team because I hoped my writing experience might contribute to the team’s functions. The perks are thus reciprocal, a synchronous fit of members and organization, with opportunities for expansion as well as continuity.
Exceeding Expectations
In retrospect, my first semester has exceeded all I hoped for, which I’ll illustrate with highlights from the three classes I took in fall 2024. In the writing class, as I listened to my classmates reading selections from their legacy letters or memoirs, I witnessed their lives unfolding before my eyes, as if rediscovering life experiences like old friends. In the movement class, as we stretched into the music, I realized how deeply we long to commune with our familiar, tender bodies. With my classmates and a naturalist, I hiked up and down trails through the Minnewaska Preserve, crossed bridges with them, and gazed from a high cliff over the expanse of radiant fall leaves carpeting the valley below.
Bard LLI has become a place where I’ve found I can be myself with the companionship of peers, a neighborhood in the best, old-fashioned sense of the word. If reaching it requires a drive along the Hudson River, it’s not far at all. And there’s always the assurance that wonderful music awaits as well.
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