The Ice-Cream Women of Seneca County - final part

Editor's note: This is the final part in the "The Ice-Cream Women of Seneca County" lifestyle column. I have learned quite a bit about the stress factors that affect these girls, from school to dating, from social media pressures to local and global concerns. But everyone needs to relax; everyone has favorite activities and hobbies. So to finalize the questionnaire, I tried to get a sense of the kind of fun they enjoy. The first question was simply "how do you relax?" Among the most common answers (6 or 46% was "listening to music." As to the kind of music, Country leads the way with seven affirmatives followed by "Most Kinds" (5), Pop & Indie (4), Rap & HipHop (4), Rock (1) and 80's (1). Tied with music for relaxation was watching TV and/or movies. When asked to chose a favorite between going to a theater or streaming at home, the results were pretty evenly divided: 5 enjoyed both, 4 like home-streaming and 4 preferred the theater. Gwen stated that she "loves the theater but home is good," while Willow asserted she "LOVES going out but streams more often." Ashlyn simply "loves good movies" anywhere. Other relaxation favorites were reading (3), doing art (mostly painting) (3), Sleeping (3) – I can relate to that! – playing with pets (2) – a dog for Chloe and a cat for Carolyn . Tori enjoys long drives and running, while Ashlyn like to play the on-line reality game Sims. I particularly liked a "relaxation response" from Missie Mae who likes to "sit outside and light a candle." Differing from relaxation time is "favorite activities" time. A variety of physical activities heads the list with Ashlyn dancing, Carolyn playing tennis, Tori with sports in general, Megan enjoying gymnastics, Kayla swimming and cheering, Sydney playing volleyball and softball and Kennedy bike riding and playing volleyball. Other activities that occupy time are cooking, baking, making ice cream, shopping and reading. Several of the girls stated that their favorite activities simply involved being with family and friends; I find this very nice to hear. Gwen described herself as a "social butterfly." She also said she loves watching sunrises and sunsets which could also be a great way to relax. Hobbies are also an important part of relaxation activities. Once again, art plays an important role with three of the girls listing painting as a hobby. I'm not sure if this is an "art" though many would argue for its inclusion, but several of the respondents listed "makeup & fingernails" as a hobby (Ari & Kayla) -- OK, I can live with that. Crafts were also important to some. Tori enjoys crocheting and scrapbooking while Megan is a baker. Ashlyn plays the uke and guitar while Carolyn makes bracelets. In other words, these young women show a real variety of interests which is really good to see. I then asked the girls if they like working at Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe during the summer. The answers were, for the most part, very brief! With one "no" and one abstention, the responses were very positive. "I love it." "Productive and fun." "Something fun to do while making money." "Make money and more connections among people." "Weekdays, not weekends!" These were some of the responses while other girls answered with a simple "yes," for the enjoyment factor. Finally, to end the entire questionnaire, I simply asked if there was anything else they would like to tell me about themselves. Seven simply answered in one word, "No," due, I'm sure, to the fact that they probably had writer's cramp from answering all the rest of the survey. Several had some interesting comments, however. Ashlyn wrote, "No, I am a boring family-oriented person." While I have carefully refrained from referring to any of the answers from any of the girls when talking to them, I had to tell Ashlyn that I found her far from boring and that she was a delight to speak with. She smiled broadly and turned away. Willow wrote "I am very concerned about my future." She is a Senior and will be graduating next Spring, and if I were to speak with her I would certainly tell her that she is not alone with this anxiety, especially as a Senior who must begin making some pretty momentous decisions. You expressed an interest in nursing or psychology; go for it, and if you find that is not who you are, there is plenty of time to change your mind. Forty plus years of college teaching has shown me that the majority of students will change their majors several times during their college days as they discover new interests and challenges. Megan, on the other hand, told me that she is a quiet person but is "excited about her future." And Megan, quiet is good; not everyone has to be the center of attention. Kennedy, who is planning on a career in criminal justice, wanted me to know that she "loves her family and friends and doing things for them." Gwen's answer to the question was beautiful. She wrote, "Know that I am just a teenage girl learning new things every day. I love connecting with people and hope to one day make a difference in this world with my career." Gwen, with that attitude and your outgoing personality, I assure you that you will make a difference. So, who are the Ice Cream Women of Seneca County? They are your next-door neighbors; they are vocalists in your church choirs; they are the happy, anxious, funny, worried, shy, extroverted young women you see every day at shops, at department stores, and restaurants and at schools. They all share common threads of feelings and emotions yet each one is as different from the other as are the flowers of an English garden. They are bull-headed and stubborn yet kindly and helpful. They are your daughters and granddaughters, your children and your friends. They are also very special, because they work to serve you the best ice cream in Seneca County, but remember, Seneca County is not their whole world. They will be moving on to new destinations, to new opportunities, but the lessons they learned in Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe under the guidance of Madam X will be a part of them forever. In short – they are incredibly special. On the first page I asked the question "Why are these girls so nice?" I gave several possible answers to this simple question, and all of my answers were wrong. They are nice – simply because they are nice.