My journey from earning my First Aid badge to nursing school
Venus G. is a Girl Scout Ambassador in San Gorgonio Council.
Girl Scouts has always been a part of my life. I started as a Daisy and have loved every single moment of it. Growing up, I was very outgoing and bubbly, but when I moved across the U.S. I became really shy and quiet.
Once I was put into the troop I am in now, it all changed. My sisters in my troop helped bring out the bubbly and outgoing side of me. They also taught me a whole lot of different Girl Scout skills.
My favorite part of Girl Scouts
One of my favorite things I have learned in Girl Scouts is the importance of flag ceremonies and honoring the flag in the right and respectful way. Everyone in Girl Scouts who knows me knows the American flag is one of my favorite things ever.
Besides the normal camping skills, like how to use a pocketknife or how to use a compass, I have learned a lot of important life skills that will/have helped me—mainly from selling Girl Scout Cookies and earning different badges.
One of my favorite badges we have worked on was our First Aid badge. Working and earning that badge actually inspired me to pursue nursing as a career. Thanks to Girl Scouts and all the community service and life skills I have learned, I got into my top college as a Nursing major with a minor in Psychology.
Traveling with my troop
My troop and I were very active in our Girl Scout activities. We saved up the money we earned from selling Girl Scout Cookies to do lots of things. Our very first trip with cookie money was to San Francisco to participate in a bridging ceremony across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a long walk with a lot of bugs and bees, but the memories made on that trip were beyond amazing.
What was even better was our trip to Savannah, Georgia to see the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low. It was 100 percent a life-changing trip. Seeing where this organization all started was truly amazing.
The final trip our troop was supposed to take before we all aged out was to go to Europe, but COVID came around and changed everything. During the first couple of weeks of quarantine, it was hard to figure out what we are going to do for our meetings and how we were going to make them work, but we figured it out. We had a lot of ups and downs during lockdown trying to figure out what to do, but we were still able to earn badges, have fun movie nights, and hang out with each other (even if it was over Zoom).
What I hope other Girl Scouts learn
Girl Scouts will always be something I am glad I stuck with. My advice to younger girls or girls thinking about joining is to stick with it. It will truly help you through the tough times in life. The skills you learn in Girl Scouts are skills you don't learn in school. You get the chance to make so many friends, learn so many new things, and even go on amazing trips. The power of Girl Scouts is beyond amazing, and I wouldn't change it for the world.
