Service and NHS 3 hours: On August 25, a few of the girls from my Girl Scout troop participated in a bridging ceremony where a Brownie troop was moving up to become Juniors, the next level of Girl Scouts. The ceremony took place at Pioneer Park in Azuza. I had a really good time preforming the bridging for the girls. They were so proud that they got to become a level higher. Their faces were full of smiles as they proudly walked across the bridge to receive their rainbow bridge badge and put on their new, green vests. After the ceremony, we had a huge feast and we stuffed ourselves with tons of pizza and cake to celebrate the girls' achievement. Later, I taught the girls one of my favorite games that I had learned in Girl Scouts called "Octopus". It involved a lot of running and the girls were so excited that I passed down one of my favorite scout traditions from when I was a younger girl scout. And at the same time all of the parents were glad that the girls used up all their energy from the goodies by running around. What really impacted my day was that both the parents and the girls were so amazed at my vest which is decorated with all of the badges and awards I have earned over the past five years. The girls were so excited to see me wear it that they counted how many participation patches I had on the back. I think on this day I was a great source of information for the parents. They had so many questions about my trips and accomplishments and after they thanked me for being there to support their young girls. I love to help out with younger girl scouts because I want to show them that it is still beneficial to be a Girl Scout at an older age. They look up to me and every time I volunteer with younger troops, I am inspired to continue to share my experiences with others. The best thing that comes from volunteering with Girl Scouts is that I am constantly building my leadership skills and I am improving my communication skills with both adults and younger girls.
Creative 96 hours (four whole days!): From August 1st to the 4th I was a Unit Leader (which is a Girl Scout Councilor) at an overnight Girl Scout Camp in Idyllwild, California. This was my second time as a councilor at this camp and both years I have made the best memories and met amazing friends. This camp is very special because the campers(ranging form 8 to 16) are separated into units by age and are under the care of unit leaders for the entire time at camp. At camp everyone has a camp name, mine is Grizzly, and we (councilors) refuse to tell our real names to the campers until the last day. Best of all, each unit has a theme that they keep all weekend and the unit leaders go all out with t-shirts, decorations, and accessories for the campers. During the entire camping weekend myself and my partner, Olivia aka "Olive Oyl", were the leaders of a group of seven fifth-grade girls. It was very stressful because Olivia and I were responsible for these girls the entire time; we had to get them to and from activities, get them ready for bed, and teach them survival skills to earn a badge. However, my job as a councilor was extremely fun. Our Unit 2 was one of the youngest groups of campers, so Olivia thought that the the Disney Pixar movie, Up, would be a great theme. We decorated the cabin with colorful streamers and balloons and when the girls arrived, we let them decorate their beds with more decorations. On the first day we dressed up and acted like the characters from the movie; I was the adventure scout Russel and Olivia was the old, senior citizen Carl Fredricksen. And we made the costumes ourselves! My favorite part of the camp is at campfire when the councilors lead the girls in many crazy and exciting songs that have dance moves and funny words. The girls always have a blast and it is great to see them having the time of their lives. The weekend at this camp is my favorite time of the year and I look forward to seeing my girls again. It has transformed me as a person because I had to quickly learn how to care for so many girls and become a great role model for them. In my experience from Girl Scouts, the younger girls look up to us experienced girls so much and they always tell us how they want to be councilors when they are older. My love for being a leader has grown so much due to my experience at Nature at Night. I have made memories that I will keep my entire lifetime and I will make sure to keep returning to this camp until i graduate college. The weekend was so amazing, and this description of the basic memories of Nature at Night do not even come close to expressing my love and enjoyment of this camp; it is truly impossible to describe it all in words. |
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May 2015
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