PROVIDENCE – Good people always find each other, for sure. The serendipity of sharing our personal stories and trading our personal narratives can help to create a new kind of virtual, resilient neighborhood, one that strengthens our sense of community and connection, putting the emphasis on survival, not making money.

Last week, on Tuesday, April 22, I celebrated my 73rd birthday by going out for dinner with an old friend, John, someone who I have known for nearly 50 years, having first met in 1976 in the village of Montague Center, Mass.

Going out to dinner was a true treat, the second time I have been able to do so since my inadvertent dance with a refrigerator at the end of January, followed by three weeks in a rehabilitation facility in February.

The good news is that my legs are slowly getting stronger. I have graduated from a walker back to my trekking poles, a major advancement in my physical therapy.

April 22 also marked the 55^th anniversary of Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, when citizens sought to reverse decades of environmental degradation, with the iconic messaging, “Love Your Mother [Earth],” through a strategy of activism.

Last week, April 24, also marked the observance of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, 110 years since 1915 when the Turks attempted, unsuccessfully, to purge all Armenians from Mother Earth.

Talk about serendipity. Our waitress at the restaurant, Kristina Boyajian, had a fascinating story to share with us about her desire to pursue a profession in the caring industry, based in large part on her continuing conversations with her 96-year-old grandmother, her family survivors of the Armenian Holocaust.

During the last few months, as a participant and an observer, ConvergenceRI has reported on the demographic shift taking place in health care delivery: young workers are providing care for the growing aging population of Rhode Islanders. The change in caring offers a new pathway for prosperity – if the state and the health care are listening and willing to invest more resources.

My serendipitous interaction with Boyajian offered keen insights into the kinds of investments that the state and health care delivery systems should consider making. [See links below to Convergence RI stories, ‘Letter from Miriam,” Dances with refrigerators,” and “Loving the universe.”]

Here is the ConvergenceRI interview with Kristina Boyajian, a former nursing aide in a psychiatric facility, a waitress, and a real estate saleswoman, capturing a voice that needs to be heard and amplified, if Rhode Island wants to invest in the survival of our communities of young adults and families.

ConvergenceRI: What career would you like to pursue in the health care industry? Why?   BOYAJIAN : So I wouldn’t like to pursue a career in health care because I’ve done that and realized it’s a very money hungry industry and people really aren’t cared for.

If anything, I’d like to create my own Montessori school because I realized children are much more likely to be molded to change the world. So I’d like to help raise children that then go on to impact the lives of adults.

ConvergenceRI: How has your relationship with 96-year-old grandmother influenced your decisions?    
BOYAJIAN: My relationship with my grandmother has made me realize how precious life is. How strong you have to be to hold up the family. She lost both her parents very young. She has this incredible determination about her where even now, after losing her husband of over 70 years, she’s still thriving and making friends in the assisted living facility and doing her puzzles and enjoying the activities. Some people let life happen to them, and she’s never been one of those. She’s in control.

ConvergenceRI: What do you see as the major problems within the current health care profession?    
BOYAJIAN: I think people are mostly money signs, and I think we’re far too quick to label people with diagnoses that change how they view themselves forever instead of showing them alternative coping mechanisms.

ConvergenceRI: How has your family’s history as Armenian survivors of the genocide influenced your sense of commitment to sharing the narrative of your family?    
BOYAJIAN: I am really into Armenian history and culture. I don’t talk about it often but it’s a really empowering story. So one day one of my relatives was in a bar in a village near Yerevan and he heard a drunk Turkish soldier bragging about how he was going to burn his village tomorrow. [My relative] was able to get the whole family out.

But it was an incredible trek across mountains and deserts to get my family to Greece and then eventually get to New York. My mom often tells me to eat my bulgur wheat because that was something they survived on during their journey. I think that story, just like most things in my life, reminds me to appreciate the painful things because they create something special, something strong.

ConvergenceRI: Does your grandmother or you have a favorite family recipe that you would feel comfortable sharing?    
BOYAJIAN: [transcribed from a handwritten recipes from the kitchen of Flora Boyajian; the recipes are for fillings for a traditional Armenian dish, usually prepared with philo dough]

Meat Boerag (delicious).  
3 lbs. hamburg (or ground turkey)  
1 small can tomato paste
½ green pepper, chopped fine  
1 large onion, chopped fine    
garlic    
parsley, fresh large handful    
pepper, salt    
½ tbsp. all spice

Cheese Boerag (delicious!)    
2 lbs. muenster cheese    
½ pound extra sharp cheddar cheese (can add mild cheddar)    
parsley, large bunch, chopped fine    
small onion, chopped fine    
1 egg    
no salt

Grate cheeses together, mix all ingredients

ConvergenceRI: How do you maintain your sense of optimism for the future? How does that optimism influence your desire to work as a health caregiver?    
BOYAJIAN: My optimism isn’t always there, but when it is, I like to say that I’m relentless with it, because there’s so many ways to spend your energy in this life. Why would we spend it spreading negativity? What does that do for anyone, including ourselves?

My desire to give back to people really comes from having experienced really hard things and wanting to use those experiences to help other people grow and flourish.

Sometimes people really just need someone to believe in them or say a few impactful words.

Sometimes it’s the people we only meet for an hour that change our lives the most. I can think of one such woman for me that just gave me a hug and shared her personal life story when I was young. I’ll never forget her vulnerability in that moment. I could tell it was authentic and wasn’t something she shared with everyone, but it gave me hope and it was incredibly powerful.

Sometimes it’s little things like that. People you meet along the way. I really believe that life will always give you the right people, whether they [appear] in lessons or blessings. They’re coming someway, somehow eventually.