Introductions

Hi there! My name is Hannah. If you can't tell from the title of this blog: I'm a Girl Guide.

 I'm 15 and in the Ranger branch. I've been Guiding since the my first year of Sparks. To say that Girl Guides has changed my life is an understatement; Girl Guides helped to shape my life. I have some many memories, learned so many things, and met some many people that Guiding will always have a special place in my heart. So, I thought that telling my Guiding story would be a good starting point!

Okay, lets start with Sparks! I started Sparks in 2004, at the age of 5. I actually didn't want to go to my first meeting; My mom had signed me up for it and I went kicking and screaming (in essence).  Due to a lack of leaders my mom joined my unit as a volunteer, Rainbow! She ended up following me all the way up to Pathfinders. Other than that I don't really remember much. I do remember my first real camp, dubbed the "Life Changing Camp". I'm going to save that story for later. The only thing I can say is that Sparks sparked (pun intended) my love of Guiding for years to come.

After two years of Sparks I advanced to Brownies! My followed me to my new unit and because she didn't want to forget her name, she became Rainbow Owl. Once again, I don't remember much of Brownies. I was a circle leader for the Fairies in my second year and I absolutely love earning badges. I filled up my sash before moving up and I was extremely proud of it. I still have all my sashes and I look back at them fondly. I really started taking my Guiding into my own hands: I went to my first camp alone and I started doing individual badge work. I look at Brownies now and I find it to be the happiest of all the branches.

I finished my two years of Brownies and jumped over the toadstool to Guides. This is where my memories start to become clear. My mom continued to be my leader. My Guide unit was insistent on using names for the leaders; Therefore my mom was dubbed "Thistle" (endearingly of course!) and her sidekick "Oriole". Sadly I moved after my first year and we had to leave Oriole and my unit behind. We ended up moving to Middle-O-Nowhere, Alberta and had a conduced Guide/Pathfinder unit. We had to drive an hour to get to our camping location. I was also classmates of all the Guides so it made the introductions a lot easier. I was once again a badge addict and my sash was so filled that my mom had to sew them on the middle, then on the sides, then directly on my camp blanket! I also earned my Lady Baden Powell in my second year, a year faster than average (not to toot my own horn or anything). I earned the "I really need to learn how to sew award", for my infamous sash and left my unit with many happy memories.

We moved back to civilization for my Pathfinder years. I joined a unit that was a bit of a dog's breakfast. My lovely and slightly perfectionist mother decided to rehabilitated my unit and my first year was fun, I was one of three first years along with Olivia and a girl named Madison. We went hoteling as our end of year camp and went to a super cool restaurant called O Noir (google it, it's really cool). After my first year a lot of girls dropped out and our unit was down to five girls, three of them new. We moved into our basement since we could all fit. This was probably one of the best years of my Guiding life. We had so much fun and I really bonded with my unit. Our end of year camp was a scavenger hunt through Toronto. It's the best thing if you have a small unit. We went "glamping" (also fun) and we were just really close. My third year was quite exciting, as the only third year, I was the matriarch of the unit now. We had a pretty rowdy group of first year that I had to quiet down a couple times. I planned my third year camp, Camp Hogwarts, which I'll talk about later. I earned my Canada Cord and my unit threw a little party for me! I felt so accomplished with this unit that I didn't want to leave. I'd earned the "All-In-One" award since this was my first unit I'd spent all three years at. It was a bittersweet ending and I left with a heavy heart. I'm kind of a legend with that unit. When I come for visits everyone gets excited to see me, it's almost like I'm a a celebrity! I have some many great memories with that unit!

I've reached the age to move on to Rangers and I've just started as a first year. My friend Olivia (yah, the one from the first year of Pathfinders) is with me and I'm working towards my Chief Commissioner's Bronze ward and this blog is one of my challenges!

I'm going to be updating this blog as much as possible. This blog is everything Girl Guides: From tips to stories to ideas. I'm excited to share my story with you!