I have to say, it has been feeling a little dark and grey the past few weeks. It’s been hard to be a girl. The news and world around really haven’t been very empowering or positive, and quite frankly have been sucking the happy out of my soul.
But after this past weekend, I feel like a little spark has been rekindled. My Girl Scout troop had a meeting to work on our Girltopia Journey. A journey is an opportunity for scouts to “explore new things, connect with friends and her community, and make a difference in the world”(1). I have a troop of freshman girls and they selected Girltopia as part of the “It’s Your World, Change it” series. Not only will we be learning about challenges in our community but will have time to put together a “Take Action” project to make a positive change in our community and world. The Girltopia journey is designed so “girls develop their own vision of an ideal world and acquire the skills to make it a reality.”(1)
As we were planning the kick-off meeting I realized I had a special opportunity to connect two of the worlds I live in, my BOOST world and my Girl Scouts world. We needed to read about a woman in history who had made a difference and then create a project about our vision for an ideal world for girls. I was reminded of the 2016 BOOST keynote speaker Dr. Tererari Trent. Dr. Trent did for her community exactly what we were wanting to do.
In good youth leader fashion, we started with some engaging questions about what a visionary is, and who are some of the visionaries they could name. We talked about what are some elements of an ideal world for girls and reviewed some facts that impact girls in the US and worldwide. And then it was story time, we read Dr. Trent’s book “The Girl who Buried her Dreams in a Can.”
Then we got to work, each girl found a can and then proceeded to write their dreams for girls.
In the end, my girls wanted to know if Dr. Trent had been a Girl Scout or Girl Guide because she exemplified our law. If not, she has our troop’s vote to be an honorary member of Troop 2122.
Throughout this process, I was reminded that while today I may not live in a perfect world, I can do my part to build an ideal world for the future. As Dr. Trent told us back in 2016, Tinogana, It is achievable!
I had my usual breakfast of toast with jam, protein shake, and coffee.
1-https://www.girlscouts.org/en/our-program/journeys/it-s-your-world-change-it-.html