Min Le, a graduate of the directing department of China Transmission, teaches the elderly to play short videos——

After 00, I met another kind of youth
in the University for the Elderly

Min Le, a graduate of China Transmission who works as a part-time teacher at the University for the Elderly, "caught fire" on the Internet. A video received 47,6 likes, more than <>,<> comments and interactions, and then many media wanted to interview and report, and they themselves changed from news recorders to news parties. Junior brothers and sisters from Communication University of China contacted Min Le and hoped to make a documentary for her.

In the face of everything suddenly, 23-year-old Min Le was surprised and also looked forward to it, "I want to explore the first 00 current situations of post-100s life."

"Going to a university for the elderly to be a teacher is not a hot head"

"I am a post-00s university teacher for the elderly, and at 12 o'clock last night, a 75-year-old student sent me a message, I was really moved, and it feels really happy to be trusted and liked." In April, Min Le shared a chat record sent by a student that the elderly insisted on studying at the University for the Elderly because of her dedication and enthusiastic help. After the video was sent, many netizens were moved by the sincerity of the old man and asked Min Le how to go to the University for the Elderly to become a teacher.

Initially, not long after Min Le submitted his resume to the University for the Elderly, he received a call and became the youngest teacher at the University for the Elderly. And making this choice is not "hot head". Graduated from the directing department of Communication University of China, she worked with several crews in college, engaged in screenwriting and planning, and also went to Internet factories to do operational work, but she always felt that she often fell into confusion and anxiety in the face of high-intensity work and high-pressure communication. After graduating and working for a while, she chose to quit, but she didn't want to be idle all the time, so she quickly began to think about finding a part-time job.

She began to think, where are her strengths? Where should the future lead? Two classes a week, teaching the elderly to shoot videos and clips, although the income is not much, but it is enough for her to discover the beauty of life.

In Min Le's experience, every year when she returned home, her elderly relatives and friends would ask her how to shoot videos with her mobile phone, and some elders directly held short videos and asked her "how is this done".

"After I went to college, I spent dozens of days a year with my parents. I found that although they were getting older, they also wanted to keep up with the current trend. In Min Le's view, these needs are universal.

Min Le initially thought that many of the short videos sent by middle-aged and elderly people were "dirty" and "with a lot of special effects and exaggerated templates", but when she really entered the University for the Elderly, she found that the elderly actually also have the pursuit of exquisite videos and beautiful videos, but they are limited to lack of cognition and experience, and many basic software and routine operations have not been heard, let alone "it can still be played like this".

Min Le describes himself as "someone trying to bridge the digital divide." Before teaching editing techniques, Min Le spent time popularizing common mobile editing software to help them remember the function and location of each icon symbol. In class, she teaches over and over again how to subtitle videos, choose soundtracks, add special effects transitions, and explain "what is montage" to seniors.

The University for the Elderly is a window into society

In the class of 26, the youngest students are in their 40s and the oldest in their 70s. "The age difference of 20 years makes their cognitive acceptance completely different, and sometimes a knowledge point has to be explained three or four times." During recess, there will also be students who come to ask Min Le for advice.

In Min Le's class, there are uncles and aunts who come to the class with their little granddaughter, and there are elders who have learned several times but still can't remember, laughing at themselves as "stupid". "The life of these elderly people is very simple, the emotions are also very sincere, and the learning attitude is also very serious, although it is not mandatory to do homework, but the students who are late to hand in the homework will also take the initiative to explain to me." Min Le felt that in the body of the elderly, she saw a full of energy.

Strictly speaking, Min Le's working hours are only two classes per week. Some students will immediately take a video and send it to Min Le when they come home from class, hoping to get comments. Privately, Min Le and his classmates also followed each other's social media accounts and often interacted together in the comment area.

Through the lens of the old man, Min Le discovers the old age life she never imagined. Some elderly people share walking and walking their dogs, some elderly people share travel, and some elderly people share their daily dancing routines. To her surprise, some students made a video of a shop visit after a few classes and shared it on social media, "the subtitles, soundtrack, and camera connection are very smooth." In order to help more students skillfully record their lives with short videos, before "May Day", Min Le participated in an outing organized by students to summarize the problems in the shooting process on the spot and explain them in class.

Min Le also found that many elderly people are potential "all-round masters". In their notebooks, there are not only the steps and precautions for short video shooting and production, but also the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, financial knowledge, and methods for training memory. In the park, if elderly students see flowers and plants they don't know, they will also take out their mobile phones to scan and identify and communicate with each other.

"The life of the elderly is not only about square dancing and raising children, but they are also pursuing their new lives." Among the students of the University for the Elderly, there is an uncle who has a very strong Japanese learning ability, he not only studied short videos at the University for the Elderly, but also insisted on studying Japanese for 4 hours a day. The old man also told Min Le, "After graduating from university, I once went to Hainan by bicycle, and I will write my experience as a biography. ”

Min Le feels that such people are worth learning, "For young people, it is difficult for us to arrange our lives so well. After all, it's easy to do one thing, but it's not easy to stick to one thing for a long time."

Be an "explorer" in the youth of infinite possibilities

Working as a part-time teacher at the University for the Elderly allowed Min Le, who had been confused and anxious, to find a new direction and see his value. In this group of elderly students, Min Le also encountered another way of living youth.

"I'm doing something meaningful and valuable, and the joyful and enhanced feedback I get every day has brought me a very positive improvement. It turned out that my life could be like this, and I gradually became sunny. Although it takes an hour and a half to commute to the University of the Elderly, she always leaves in a good mood.

Sometimes, after the lesson, students would ask her out for lunch and chat. A pre-retirement business student shared with her that making short videos is very similar to doing business, you need to understand the needs of buyers and sellers and the relationship between market supply and demand, and what kind of people you face, you must do what they like the topic and direction, not just limited to individual judgment.

"Everyone's life background and era are different, and they will provide suggestions for my account content and life planning from different dimensions." Min Le said. Knowing that she is still freelancing, some elderly students will also share their professional experience, and some will share their children's career development trajectory. "I like to listen to these stories, I have heard a lot of experience, and I have a clearer plan for my life."

In Min Le's view, life is a wilderness rather than a track, and there is not only one way to live. "Going to work step by step is not what I want at the moment. How much money you earn, how much you spend, and living within your means is also good. At present, Min Le is still freelancing, and in addition to the part-time job of the University of the Elderly, he is also taking on the work of writing scripts.

In the face of sudden attention, Min Le also showed calmness in addition to being unexpected. "It may be that my label is more special, there is a contrast between the post-00s and the elderly group, and the teaching content is also a relatively novel short video production." However, these concerns still strengthened Min Le's confidence to do this.

On the way to becoming a "life explorer", Min Le hopes to continue to make a self-media account to record different elderly lives and the infinite possibilities of post-00s. "The experience at the University of the Elderly has kept me connected to life, and it will also give me better creative inspiration and ideas."

Wang Junli, trainee reporter of China Youth Daily Source: China Youth Daily