Direct Your Life

Direct Your Life: (Express, Create, Inspire!) is an event for older Girl Scouts, Junior's and up, but it could be designed for younger scouts as well. This is a two to three hour event or could be a series. Direct your life is based on the Media Girl Scout Journey. Girls today need to be more aware of how the media portrays women and the pressure they are under from peers and for them to feel empowered enough to be leaders of their own lives, instead of following others. Young women can help each other make better decisions and realize their uniqueness, instead of trying to be like everyone else. This event can be broken up in to three 40 min workshops.

1) Start with an opening circle: flag ceremony, introduction and the Girl Scout promise. Hand out an inspiring song to sing.

2) Girls are divided into 3 groups. They head to their workshops and rotate.

3) Workshops: a) Directing. They meet with a real director of plays/music/commercials. They have a mock camera and stage and they improv a public service commercial of how they want to inspire young women about body image, and how to value themselves. They rehearse and they will perform it at the end of the event in front of everyone. b) Art: the girls paint their own drum...portraying their uniqueness. The drum is symbolic of sound and expression. Use indian ink (it dries quickly) and acrylics for detail. Encourage them to paint anything that is truly symbolic of them, an animal, symbols (sun, stars, moon), or nature. The drum can be hung in their rooms as art work and played, once the paint dries and the drum is sprayed with acrylic/oil varnish. Purchase Remo drums (10 inches). c) Girls Circle: They sit in a circle and you use a talking stick to help lead the girls in a discussion about being leaders in their own lives. Let the girls prompt each other and inspire each other. The adult just facilitates and asks questions and the girls lead the discussion. You want to avoid a lecture type of discussion. The girls really will help each other. You can hand out questions to the girls to discuss: like peer pressure, body image, what if questions, etc. Get them thinking and discussing and the adult praises each girl for their contributions. The focus is on the positive and that each girl should honor her own path. Then end this workshop by having them write a brief letter to themselves....starting with: "I direct me life by"...(provide paper, markers, envelopes and pens). Have the girls address the envelopes to themselves. You will mail these letters to them a month after the event.

4) Closing performances. All of the groups perform their public service announcement in front of each other. Then closing circle and praise the girls for directing their own lives. "Sing the song: Make New Friends."

*snack and juice/water can also be provided. Make sure you spray the drums with varnish before they leave. Workshops can be made longer or this event can be a three part series. Another craft can be substituted for the drum project..but it should be something they can take home as a reminder of this workshop and to direct their own lives.