Our thanks go to Emily Shook for this week's blog entry. Emily is a Girl Scout Brownie and Cadette Troop Leader, as well as the co-Service Unit Manager for Urbandale.
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| Emily Shook Girl Scout Brownie & Cadette Troop Leader Co-Service Unit Manager Urbandale, IA |
When I was asked to write a story for this blog, I thought about what part of Girl Scouts is most important to me. So I looked to the Girl Scout law, you can ask any of my girls and they will tell you what my favorite part of the law is.... "to be a sister to every Girl Scout". I've never had a sister and most of my life I've been outnumbered by boys, so the idea of being a sister is special to me. Girl Scouts all around the world are bound together in this unique sisterhood. I now have 10 million sisters!
Since I will probably never meet all 10 million of my sister Girl Scouts, I will focus on the ones that I have met! I am a sister to both my Brownie and a Cadette troops, and I have expanded beyond my girls to serve as the co-Service Unit Manager for Urbandale. I love all the friendships that have developed in all these areas.
My Cadette troop has been together since Kindergarten, and I've been their leader since they were first graders. It has been such an honor to watch them grown into young women. They are almost all as tall as me! They have become busy as their social lives expand and have become more involved in sports, music, church and other activities. Our troop meeting frequency and times are changing this year, all so they can remain together as they move into this next chapter of their lives. My hope is that the sisterhood of Girl Scouts ties these 16 girls together for life. The memories of horseback riding, playing football, decorating cakes, giving to others, and the countless other adventures we've had will make their friendships even sweeter. We are a diverse group of girls from every elementary school in the Urbandale area. Next year as the all go to same middle school, the sisterhood of Girl Scouts will connect them and be even more important. Watching our relationship change, from me being a leader to more of an advisor and friend has been great.
It is also fun to watch with anticipation as my Brownie girls move forward and mature. I am definetly a more experienced leader than I was the first time around with this age. In their two years together, they've already matured and come out of their shells. The shy little group of girls I had, has blossomed into an outgoing friendly group. I know that as they move forward together, they will find their friendship and the bond of sisterhood growing even stronger between them.
Girl Scouts has broaden my connections in my community as well as brought about friendship with other families that we may never of had. I am thankful for all the opportunities I've had...and if my math calculations are correct, I have at least another 15 years of fun!
- Emily Shook
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