Month: August 2025

• I was looking for a less intense form of exercise and joined a swim class for older adults.
• I was surprised by how well I fit in with the other attendees; they were social butterflies.
• I enjoy taking the class and have been going for a few years now.

When I signed up for a water aerobics class for older adults, I felt embarrassed — I was about 30 years younger than everyone else.

I’d recently moved in with my parents because I became disabled with long COVID. I wasn’t able to take care of myself in the same ways or exercise at the same intensity I was used to anymore, and I started to look for new ways of moving.

When you have chronic fatigue, it can be difficult to get movement in every day, but my doctors have told me it’s still vital to try. The key is finding something that doesn’t push beyond your threshold but also keeps you as active as possible.

I go walking in spring and fall. However, in Southern Illinois, where I live, temperatures and weather conditions in summer and winter are too extreme for me to walk outside. But there’s a gym with a pool down the street, and I love being in the water, so I decided to look at their classes.

I was the youngest person in the class by a few decades

I was surprised to see the variety of pool courses offered. However, many of them looked too vigorous. The only ones that appeared to be within the scope of my abilities were for older adults. Still, I put aside my self-consciousness about being 39 and considering this particular class, and looked at the time slots. This was the next hurdle — most were morning classes, as older people are often early birds.

Another symptom of my illness is insomnia, and I don’t wake up until after most of them take place. However, there was one beacon of light — a one-hour class starting at 5 pm that met three days a week. I decided to shed my pride and sign up.

My first time in the water, it took no time to realize I was in the “social butterfly” class — I would fit right in. Not only did everyone in the class immediately introduce themselves, but they also asked me why I was there. When I explained my disability, they showed genuine support.

Once class started, it became apparent that they all knew each other extremely well. It turned out most of them had been taking this same class together for years and were a tight-knit group. Whenever new people joined, they welcomed us with open arms. Apparently, they also liked this time slot because they weren’t “morning people” either. I felt right at home.

I fit right in with the group

As time went on, I was even more convinced of their party animal ways — they often spent the majority of the class socializing, while occasionally following the teacher. Now, that’s not to say they’re not active, because they definitely are. However, whether or not they are doing the actual exercises we are being shown is another subject entirely.

By the end of the hour, I was also introduced to this particular class’s special activity — they always insist the last 15 minutes are set aside to play with a beach ball.

I joined the game and they cheered each other on, trash-talked in jest, and even got a little competitive. With my age, I’m able to dive for the ball and do some tricks that others can’t. When I used these skills, they cheered loudly and excitedly. In fact, one man commented on “what a strong arm” I have.

Over time, I even made a close friend

Any discomfort I’d felt about joining an exercise class for older adults as a middle-aged woman quickly dissipated. And the surprises kept coming — the next class, I made a special friend. A woman approached me to chat while we were supposed to be exercising. She’d recently moved to the area and had only been attending for a few months.

As we got to know each other, we figured out that we’d both come from big cities to this small area, we shared a liberal mindset in a largely conservative area, and we both loved trying out new restaurants. Knowing she was about my mom’s age, and that my mom also wanted a friend who shared this affiliation, I suggested the three of us go out to dinner.

Now, we regularly go to the movie theater, go out to dinner, and attend local events related to our shared interests. In fact, sometimes she and my mom even go out without me! In the meantime, I’ve been going to these classes for the past three winters and loving every minute.

I didn’t have “become disabled, move home with my parents, join a water aerobics class frequented by retirees, and make new friends from a different generation” on my Bingo card for this stage of my life. However, it has not only been good for my health, but also for my soul.

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was was implanted into his mum after being frozen as an embryo in 1990. The incredible achievement breaks the record for the world’s oldest baby

• Malik Johnson decided to pursue a construction path after learning about a program in high school.
• He started his career as a concrete laborer and switched to pipe fitting after a pandemic layoff.
• Johnson emphasizes knowing your ‘why,’ progression in the trades, and seizing every opportunity.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Malik Johnson, a 29-year-old union pipe fitter in St. Louis. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When my parents bought me toys as a child, I always played with the box more than the toy. With Lego bricks, boxes, and trash cans, I’d build small apartment complexes, take a step back, and think, I did that.

My mom saw that in me. She took me to construction sites and encouraged me to pursue my passion for building. She let me have tools, and I would do small projects around the house.

I was making whatever my mind came up with, and that’s what led me on the path toward construction.

I took shop class in high school

My brother introduced me to his soccer coach, who was also the construction teacher. I joined the class.

It was easy for me to adapt and help others improve their craft, too. If someone was scared to use a tool, I’d say, “Hey, try it this way.”

Some people are nervous about messing up, but I love messing up. Sometimes, you find something new that way — a happy accident.

An executive at design-build construction firm Clayco named Dan Lester came in to talk to my class about the Construction Career Development Initiative, or CCDI, a program aimed at exposing underrepresented populations to careers in the construction trades.

Dan talked about how we need to envision a future for ourselves and the opportunities that the construction industry could provide. As I heard Dan speak, I thought, How do I want to live?

I looked at Dan’s confidence when he walked into the room demanding attention, how he carried himself, his family, his background, and all his connections, and I was convinced.

I found the trades

After graduating from high school in May 2015, I started my career as a concrete laborer. I helped build bridges, hospitals, and research labs until 2019.

In spring 2020, after a layoff due to COVID-19, I switched to being a pipe fitter, first as a laborer, then a journeyman, and now as an apprentice with the Local 562 Pipe Fitters Union.

You don’t have to go to college to get into pipe fitting. You go to a training center, which is like a two-year college experience. You have a night class once a week, practice your welding, study blueprints, math, and OSHA, and they pay you to learn. Then, you do an apprenticeship for five years.

I love being a pipe fitter

It gives me confidence knowing I have a set of skills that are needed everywhere in the world. I also like knowing how important pipe fitting is for helping all businesses run efficiently.

Pipe fitting isn’t easy, and not everyone can do it, which makes it a lot more special and gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Here are three takeaways I’d tell anyone interested in entering the trades.

1. Know your why

Before I chose pipe fitting or construction, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I remember my cousin, a high-spirited plumber, asked me, “What is your why?”

My why was that I wanted to help my mom. We were homeless, and she was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. My brother was in college, so it was just me and her. She made it feel OK, so I didn’t even know how bad it was at the time, but I know I never want to be homeless again.

My advice to someone who says, “I don’t know what I want to do” is to ask yourself why you want it and then figure out the next steps.

2. You can make money, but it’s a progression

You have to work your way up. When I started earning good money, making $33 an hour, I got laid off. Then COVID-19 happened, and I lost all my savings.

I had to start over, and my income dropped to $15 an hour. Things were tough, but a winner finds a way, so I started DoorDash and Instacart to compensate for the income loss.

I worked Monday through Sunday, six to eight hours a day. I also did some odd jobs for family and friends, like simple house projects.

Right now, I’m a fifth-year apprentice and will be a journeyman pipe fitter next year. As a journeyman laborer, I earned $101,000 in a year. When I journey out on June 1, 2026, I will be able to earn over $110,000 a year.

3. Don’t pass over opportunities because of fear

When I was with CCDI — going to school, working, and building the whole program simultaneously— I was nervous and scared the whole time, but they had my back.

What helped me was knowing I wasn’t in this alone and that CCDI and my mentor supported me every step of the way. They had a system to help me succeed as long as I applied myself, and that gave me the confidence to know that even if I don’t know what the future holds, as long as I keep moving forward, things will work out in the end.

If I’d passed over that opportunity, who knows what things would look like now?

• Data from Square shows that the average tip on food and beverage transactions dipped below 15% in Q2.
• Though average tips shrank across the board, bars saw the highest average at 16.9% of the ticket price.
• The average restaurant worker makes nearly 23% of their income in tips, Square found.

Tip fatigue may be pushing us further away from 20% gratuity being the norm.

Square, a financial services and digital payments company, released a report on Thursday. It found that in Q2, average tips were down across the restaurant industry, dipping below 15% of the total ticket price for transactions across full- and quick-service restaurants, cafés, and bars.

While that may be good news for consumers who are tired of leaving tips, the economic impacts could have knock-on effects for the service workers who depend on them.

“As consumer confidence in the economy shifts and tips fall, workers are taking home less, which could lead to a return to labor uncertainties for the industry — adding to the crunch local restaurants are continuing to feel,” Ming-Tai Huh, Head of Food and Beverage at Square, said in a statement.

The data, which compiles information from more than 100,000 restaurants using the Square payment system, analyzed more than 900 million transactions from Q1 2024 to the end of Q2 that were priced between $5 and $300 with a tip of at least $1. The report illuminates trends about tipping culture in the US, which is largely seen as more obligatory than in other countries.

The dip reflects how rattled US consumer confidence has been in recent months. While the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey shows consumer attitudes rebounded slightly in July after a dip in the spring, consumers’ assessment of the present economic outlook remains below last year’s levels — and has not yet recovered from the hit they took during the pandemic.

At full-service restaurants and cafés, where American consumers are most comfortable leaving tips, rates have remained relatively flat, reducing by less than half a percentage point since Q1 of last year, according to Square’s data.

More significant fluctuations were seen at bars and quick-service restaurants, Square found: tips at bars reduced 0.4% in the last quarter alone, and QSR tips dipped by 0.6% in the same timeframe.

Despite the lower average tips across the board, transactions at bars still generate the largest gratuities at 16.96% of the total ticket price, Square found. So, while Americans are drinking less, it appears they still appreciate their bartender’s service.

Patrons largely dislike the practice of leaving tips, especially when they feel obligated to do so or are asked to leave gratuities in non-traditional industries. Some say the practice has gotten out of control and have begun to avoid businesses that ask for them, Business Insider previously reported.

However, tipping remains essential to service workers, who depend on gratuities for a large percentage of their income.

“As previous Square research has underlined, tips make up a major part of workers’ wages — the average restaurant employee earned nearly 23% of their income in tips in 2024,” Huh said in a statement to Business Insider.