Staying in Girl Guides: One of the best decisions I have ever made

Whenever a "Girl Guide" is mentioned most people envision a seven to ten year old girl in a navy dress carrying a box of cookies. You can see why whenever I mention that I am a member of Girl Guides most people look at me and say, "STILL?". That is when I stand a little taller and say, "yes, and I love it." As I have gotten older my fellow Girl Guides have been dropping like flies. I am beginning to believe I am an endangered species. Many of the girls who have quit told me that since earning badges is the only thing you do in Girl Guides, they are no longer interested and feel there are no new things for them to do. In my opinion, they couldn't be more wrong. Sure, Girl Guides may not be for everyone, but there definitely is the potential to find something you like. I adore earning badges so I of course have no problem with that, but one huge reason why I stay in Girl Guides and love it so much... TRAVEL.

When I was a first year Guide I was signed up to join a unit that my best friend from my previous Brownie Unit told me she was going to sign up for. In my last year as a Brownie I received a dance scholarship and was asked to be a part of special ballet and jazz class. Since these classes were going to be on the same night as Guides I turned down the scholarship. I was upset, but extremely happy to start Guides. I walked into the first meeting happy and cheerful, in full uniform and with every page of the program book memorized. I saw 4 other girl sitting there. My friend from Brownies wasn't there. After weeks of waiting for her to come to a meeting and her not showing up, I decided to take action. I looked her up in the phone book and called her house, only to hear from her that she decided to quit.  I was heartbroken. I felt I gave up my scholarship for nothing, I could have joined any other unit on any other night, but I joined this one just because it was the one she wanted to go to. None of the other 4 girls in the unit were very friendly and Girl Guides wasn't an activity I looked forward to anymore. The next year was a completely different story. I joined a new unit, became a patrol leader, earned my Lady Baden Powell Challenge and was extremely happy. One day the nearby Pathfinder unit came to do a presentation, and that was when I knew that I needed to stick with Girl Guides.

The Pathfinder Unit had a large number of girls and amazing leaders. I got to see a presentation of their journey to Churchill, Manitoba. I never even thought of Girl Guides traveling places, besides your basic camp. Extremely interested I talked to the leaders. One leader told me the story of how when she was youth member of Girl Guides she applied and was accepted to be part of a trip to Pax Lodge. I couldn't believe it! Being a kid you always dream of someday traveling to other countries, I just never imagined it could be with Girl Guides. I happily joined that Pathfinder unit, and am proud to say I had an amazing time. For the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides I went with a small group of girls and a couple of my leaders to GM2010 in Guelph, Ontario. This was where I was first introduced to badge trading, and acquired a lovely collection of badges from across Canada. In 2012 my unit made the trek up to Churchill, Manitoba. Kayaking with the belugas and seeing the polar bears was absolutely amazing. Stories of that trip never get old. Now, its on to my next (and biggest) Girl Guide adventure yet.

In August 2013 I am getting on a plane with 11 other girls and 2 guiders, and together we are traveling to Ecuador, South America. Teaming up with Free the Children we are going to help build a school. As a Spark I never would have dreamed of someday applying and being accepted to be part of a group of girls to go on such an amazing journey, and apparently, neither did any of my old Guiding friends. I have been reunited at school with many of the girls from my old Girl Guide units, none of them still in Guiding. As I talk to them about my experiences every single one of them has said, "Wow. I wish I was still in Girl Guides." Through this trip to Ecuador I have now met an amazing group of girls the same age as me, with the same dedication and passion for Girl Guides. It is fantastic.

If any of you are guiders, mothers or teenage girls like me I hope you enjoyed reading this and share it with others. So many girls don't realize the opportunities that Girl Guides creates. In the fall I'll be traveling to various units around my city, sharing my stories of travel with the younger members, in hopes that they will be better educated then I was about what was ahead of me in Girl Guides. Feel free to comment below if you have any questions, or maybe you want to share your own great experience in Girl Guides. I hope you have a wonderful day, and that the next is even better.