I am a person that is elderly,
not an elderly person.
I am not “an old man”;
rather, I am man that is old.
My value is not reducible to my age,
but to being a person.
I am a person,
even when I can no longer perform the functions
I did in earlier years.
My dignity consists in whom I am,
not merely in what I do.
My vision, hearing and strength will decline with age,
but my “I” will not decline with them.
My humanity will never decline.
I am and will always remain a person.
