Troop Travel: How Our Dream Became Our Reality

By: Brittany G.

What am I looking forward to the most:

Riding Icelandic Horses

Caving in Iceland

Going to London

What am I most concerned about:

Fighting with the girls

Someone getting hurt

Injuring my knee

What am I going to miss the most:

My dad and sister

Being alone

Free time

      This is what the first page of our journals looks like, but of course the answers are different because not everyone can read my mind. The second page of our journals hold the excitement and uncontrollable craziness of our last meeting of the school year, which was also our last meeting before our troop trip to Iceland and England. The meeting was full of yelling, screaming, jumping around, and, well, just being crazily excited girls (because I’m sure that everyone knows how jumpy and happy girls can get). However, this was only one beginning in our journey. The true beginning was far earlier than anyone could have expected: 2004, the year we were in 1st grade. 

     Think back to when you were very young, just starting to see the world and the wonders it holds. Did you ever have dreams of what you wanted to do? Were you ever the one who asked, “What if?” That’s how this entire adventure started, one little question. “What if we went on a grand adventure one day?”  That’s when our leader told our troop that she would take us to Europe. That’s when the seed was planted, and it grew into a magnificent thing. 

     Granted, I was skeptical of this when I first joined the troop three years later. I didn’t think it was possible for a group of young girls to accomplish anything this huge but I have never been so happy to be proven wrong. The first strike against my doubt was our trip to Seattle in the summer of 2011. We had planned this entire 10 day trip all on our own, and we traveled all the way across the country for our first adventure of a lifetime. The day we got home from Seattle is the day that started our path to reaching Europe. 

     Three agonizing years of fundraising followed. I can’t even count how many cars we washed or how many songs we taught or how many girls we interacted with at Campfire Meadow Magic and on top of all of the fundraising, there was the planning process. It took us an entire two years just to decide where we were going: “Oh, I want to go here!” 

     “No, we have to go here!” 

     “I don’t want to go there...” 

     “We can’t afford to go there.” 

     Finally, after months of research and months of failure, we finally found our breakthrough. A mom assisting our troop helped us research, and she found that the cheapest flights were to Iceland and then over to England. It took of lot of debating and extra research, but finally we set that as our game plan.  

Now came the difficult, yet fun, part: scheduling and planning. We decided to tackle this task in two separate teams: four of us made up the Iceland team while the other three made up the England team. Then came the research. We researched what we could do, where we would stay, how we would get from place to place, and every other question that comes up before a big trip. We also established sister troops in each country. Our sister troops gave us a contact that we could get to know, easier access to information and relationships that turned out to be life altering and life lasting.  

     Now that you’ve heard the true story of how we planned and fundraised for our trip hopefully you want to read about our actual trip. I could not possibly do a better job at portraying what our adventure was like than members of my troop could. There is no possible way that I can tell you all about our experiences and keep it under 20 pages long. This passage was only meant to inspire you. With a little hope and inspiration, you too can make your dreams become you’re reality.

    If you would like to read about our trip, I would encourage you to check out our blog. It has the amazing story of our trip as seen through the eyes of the girls and leaders who made it possible. I very much hope you enjoy it!! To read Troop 1640’s blog click here.

Random Words Writing Contest!

In honor of Lime Green Giraffe’s 10th anniversary, we’re holding a Random Words Writing Contest! Below, you will see 16 words. Your task is to write an amazing story using three or more of the words from the list below! Excited?!??!

1. Icon
2. Garden
3. Aid
4. Shampoo
5. Gym
6. Horseshoe
7. Turtle
8. Whistle
9. Beast
10. Lighthouse
11. Riot
12. Pie
13. Remedy
14. Blackboard
15. Fault
16. Handbag

The rules for this contest are as follows:

1. Your story has a minimum of 100 words, and a maximum of 500.
2. Your story must be fiction, but can be about any subject you wish.
3. You must use at least three words from the required list.
4. All entries must be emailed to gspublication@hotmail.com by midnight ET on October 31, 2014. (Happy Birthday, JGL!)
5. You must be a registered Girl Scout or Girl Guide between the ages of 11-17 to enter.
6. Every girl is limited to one (1) entry.
7. Be sure to include the following information in the body of your submission email: your first and last name, age, unit and an email address where we can contact you.
8. First, second, and third place stories will be published in the February issue of Lime Green Giraffe.

Above all, have fun, and good luck!

Poetry: Paper, Pencil, and Heart

By: Sabrina Y. 

A passion and a dream;

An unbeatable team.

I put my mind and heart to the test,

So I always do my best.

I am a writer, an author if you must.

My passion burns bright on the inside, this I can trust.

Inside my head, words dance around and have fun.

How could I not write a story? The chances are none!

While some teens my age shop or play,

I write in my room the entire day.

Some people may think it’s a waste of time,

But I know my future will be better than fine.

Imagine my book sold in every store!

I promise it will not be a bore.

I shall sign books everywhere I go.

Readers will be thrilled, this I know.

I don’t need to be famous to inspire the youth.

I want to teach them that writing’s beneficial, and that’s the truth.

All I need is clean paper, a pencil, and heart,

To show children how to express themselves through writing, an important art!

Once they write a story, kids may enjoy exploring

The wondrous world they’ve created that’s far from boring.

If I can help just one person discover a passion for writing,

Then glorious success will rain upon me, how exciting!

Becoming an author is a dream for me,

So I shall work hard and write every moment I have free.

So if you don’t mind, I have work to do.

I must create a story that’s imaginative and new.

How Girl Scouts Can Impact Your Life: Interview with Terrena Sanks

By: Joyce S.

Being in Girl Scouts can change your attitude and way of life. It can inspire you to do and to try your best and it helps bring out the kinder side of people. This is Q and A session with guidance counselor Terrena Sanks gives examples of how life changing Girl Scouts can really be.

Lime Green Giraffe: How long were you a Girl Scout?

Tarrena Sanks: First started out as a Brownie when I was in the 3rd grade, age 7. In the 4th grade, I became a Girl Scout. I remained a Girl Scout until 7th grade. I wanted to continue to be a Cadette but because I was involved with school and extracurricular activities, I did not continue. There were times in junior high that I regretted that decision.

LGG: Did you enjoy it? If so, why?

TS: I loved my experiences as a Girl Scout. As a Girl Scout we did service events, went on camp outs, learned about helping one another, respecting everyone, and of course selling Girl Scout Cookies. With the selling of Girl Scout Cookies came a lesson too: I learned how to have confidence when talking with new people, I learned not to be afraid of doing new things, and I learned the importance of being polite and friendly to everyone. 

LGG: What did you learn in Girl Scouts?

TS: I learned the importance of sharing of yourself with others. I learned about leadership and what makes a good leader. My Girl Scout troop leaders were excellent ladies to look up to. They were warm, pleasant, and were like our second mothers to us. I am still in contact with them even 30 years later.

LGG: How did it impact your life?

TS: Girl Scouts taught me how to give to others in need. My entire career I have always given back. Girl Scouts teaches courage, confidence and character, I feel that this was instilled in me at such a young age so that as I grew and grow older, I chose a career path so that I can instill those same characteristics in others. I enjoy helping people, and giving my time to those in need....it makes me happy and gives me a feeling of satisfaction.

LGG: What do you currently do for a living?

TS: For the past 10 years I have been working with adults who have HIV/AIDS. It is my responsibility to make sure that they have medical care and medicine. This has been a rewarding experience and I have found that my passion is helping those who are in need, especially in a medically needy situation. I am currently working and attending school at Florida State University to obtain my Master's degree in Social Work. I want to continue my passion of helping those in need.

LGG: Did participating in Girl Scouts help make some parts of your job easier? If so, which parts?

TS: Girl Scouts and the whole essence of what it stands for, is a part of who I am. Being honest and fair, courageous and strong, using resources wisely, respecting yourself and others, and making the world a better place are all parts of who I am and thus, they have been a part of my career. It makes my working with people a much better experience. Participating in Girl Scouts taught me how to work with all types of people, how to be a strong and fair leader, how to carry myself with dignity. Those characteristics have helped to make my job easier when it comes to leading and working with my co-worker and my clients.
 Girl Scouts can help you grow as a troop, a leader, and as a person. So try to imagine your future, learning and growing in a friendly Girl Scout environment can help you in ways you may not have thought about.

Animal Comic

By Nia H.

Divergent: Veronica Roth's Atlanta Visit

By Liz W.

Veronica Roth, author of the bestselling young adult series Divergent rocked the Atlanta scene in July with a visit and book talk to Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. Her book talk included a conversation with bestselling author of the Legend series Marie Lu, in which both authors discussed their writing processes, inspirations, and favorite Mario characters. Later, the two authors did an interview with CNN before heading off to their next book tour stops.

Do It Yourself: Muscle Tank

By Jaelyn W.

What you need:
- T-shirt - any color (can be found at any craft store)
- any color fabric paint you want , puffy paint works best (if you want to decorate it)
- scissors
- cardboard (only if decorating)
- plastic sheet (also if decorating)
- make-up sponge or paint brush (for decorating)

1) Take your shirt & fold it in half , with both sleeves touching.

2) Take the scissors

3) Cut off the sleeve and about an inch into the shirt

4) There you have it! A muscle tee!

Now if you want to take it a step further with decorating it, keep reading

The design I did was crosses, but you can do any that you choose

1) Take the plastic sheet and cut it into a large square - you don't want it to small because you will have to draw on it

2) Draw a cross or circle (for a full moon) on the plastic sheet & cut it out

3) Tape the plastic back up if needed.

4) Put a piece of cardboard in between the shirt

5) Put the paint on a plate & get the makeup sponge or paint brush

6) Place you plastic sheet stencil on the shirt anywhere u want & begin to fill up the shirt with your design !

You can put anything on the shirt you want it doesn't have to be the design I did. BE CREATIVE & HAVE FUN!