OLLI Talks: Transforming End of Life Regrets (DRAKE HALL)
OSHR 3323What do we wish we had done, said, or dared—when life draws to a close? Inspired by Bronnie Ware’s The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, this course invites us to reflect on the wisdom of those who have looked back, so we may live the lives still unfolding before us more fully.
Through poetry, short writing, and open-hearted conversation, we’ll explore what it means to live authentically, speak our truths, and stay close to those we love. This is a space for gentle reckoning and courageous imagining—a chance to turn regret into clarity, grief into gratitude, and time into something luminous and alive.
Note: There are two sections of this course offered this fall. Click the +/- icons in the boxes on the right side of the page to view additional sections.
Manuel Arellano is an experienced instructional designer, trainer, videographer, and facilitator who has worked at Hewlett Packard, Broadcom, and Hach. He brings a lifelong passion for personal growth and meaningful learning to his work with OLLI learners. Known for translating complex ideas into transformative insights, Manuel now co-facilitates courses with poet Veronica Patterson that support emotional well-being, self-reflection, and healing. Their OLLI classes blend poetry, guided writing, and conversation to help participants explore and apply powerful themes of personal renewal.
Veronica Patterson’s poetry collections include How to Make a Terrarium (CSU Poetry Center, 1987), Swan, What Shores? (NYU Press Poetry Prize, 2000), Thresh and Hold (Gell Poetry Prize, 2009), & it had rained (CW Books, 2013), Sudden White Fan (Cherry Grove, 2018). And two chapbooks: This Is the Strange Part (2002) and Maneuvers: Battle of the Little Bighorn Poems (2013). Patterson graduated from Cornell University (Phi Beta Kappa), the University of Michigan, the University of Northern Colorado, and Warren Wilson (MFA Poetry). She was Loveland, Colorado’s first Poet Laureate, serving from 2019 through 2022.
Notes
- A current OLLI membership is required to register for all courses and lectures.
- If you do not have a Fall 2025 membership, one will be added to your cart at checkout.
- OLLI membership fees and course tuition are critical to the Institute's sustainability and are non-refundable.