The "Guiding" Light

As it seems my journal writings are going, this stems from the comments on an article about Girl Guides cutting 90% of the trans fat in their cookies. Flipping through the comments, what I found disgusted me. People complaining the cookies taste bad, even comparing them to McDonald’s!, calling the organization sexist, old and out of date.
Hearing these things said about a non-profit organization that fights to make a difference in the world is disgusting enough, but your heart burns that much more when you are one. Yes, I am a Girl Guide. 100% and to my core. And there has never been a day that I ever thought about quitting.

With over 10 million members world wide, I’d say that’s a pretty important organization. With a promise and law that promote virtues for a better world, goals to help out in the community, program and challenges to challenge girls and prepare them for the bitter and harsh reality of their futures, Girl Guides is basically Scouts for girls.
Now the keyword there is basically. And you’re probably gonna ask me, Well aren’t girls allowed to join Scouts? So what’s the point of Gil Guides? So I’m gonna burst your bubble.
Guides is Scouts plus something oh so important. It’s just girls. It’s girl power, helping girls make their mark in a still dominantly male run world despite the fighting women have made for their rights. And we’re changing the world.

Now I could run endless facts on Girl Guides and what it is, but I found experience works better. This is my story of the three things that caused me to stay in Guiding for ten years, and forever more.

One.
Situation? Me and my Guide friend in a two man tent with eight brownies sleeping on top of us. I asked her, “Why do we do this?”. And she told me, “To answer the unanswered question.” I asked her what that was. She said, “To find out how many people can fit in a Girl Guide tent.”
My friend moved and I didn’t see her again for over five years. I started high school last year and met her again after five years of being apart.

Two.
Who? Three people. I’ve been with them in Guiding since I was a Spark. The full 10 years. There is NO ONE on this earth that I would trust more. Ever. If I ever need someone to talk to they’re there. And they’ve helped me learn the skills I use everyday, like teamwork, leadership, and loyalty. They are my best friends, and the memories we’ve shared over ten years is nothing I would ever trade.

Three.
Where? Guiding Mosaic. The one big event where girls and women from around the world (yes, even Africa) come and gather to celebrate themselves, the world, and what Girl Guides is all about.
Two things happened here. Both in the same day at Closing Ceremonies. The first thing that happened was singing. If I asked you what the most beautiful sound in the world is, I have no idea what you’d tell me. But I can tell you this. THE most beautiful sound in the world is hearing voices from all around the world all sing the same song in their native tongue. What is that song? On my honour. It’s the creed of Girl Guides, it’s who we are and what we do. And when those 1000 people all believe in these virtues and are all Girl Guides right to their core, the passion and the emotion pouring out into the song is too much for words. That was when we all started to cry.

The second thing that happened, I swear I will remember until the day I die.
We were singing, tears were pouring, and basically all organization of the girls in the field was lost as we crowded up to the front of the stage. The ceremony slowly started to become more like a concert. I remember being up at the front, the rest of my group wandered off somewhere in the crowd, but I didn’t care. I would find them later. We had just finished singing On my honour and my face was streaked with tears, though a smile split across my face. We had sung a few other songs and I was laughing and crying with the other girls around me, but I didn’t know who they were. It didn’t matter.
The song we started singing next was called Sisters in Guiding. It’s now forever one of my favourite songs. The part I remember singing when it happened goes like this:

You are my,
Sister in Guiding, you’re a friend I can confide in.
No matter if you’re a different race.
Young or old from some far place, a
Sister in Guiding, we share a secret pride.
To make this world a better place in which to be alive.

As I muttered those words as the chorus of the song, I had looked to my left to see who was beside me. I wanted to wrap my arm around someone’s shoulder and sway to the tune with them. And when I looked someone looked back.
We both stopped singing and just looked at each other, tears streaming down our cheeks, faces blank. We had worn our uniforms to the ceremonies and I knew she wasn’t from Canada, her uniform was different. She was black, I remember that, and about as tall as I was. I don’t remember anymore. The next thing I remember doing is wiping my eyes with my hand then running up to her and hugging her as tightly as I could. She did the same.
We stood there like that for what seemed like forever, both of us dampening the shoulders of each other’s uniforms with our tears, swaying back and forth to the music being sung around us. We sung pieces of the song into each other’s ears every so often and she muttered broken phrases into mine in a language I didn’t understand. We smiled and laughed like that and spoke to each other in our respective languages, though neither of us understood a word. The most English she likely understood was the lyrics to the songs, and maybe a few simple phrases. I knew nothing of hers.
I remember exactly what I told her as the chorus came around again.
“Thank you,” I said. “You are my sister. You always were and always will be. If I ever see you again, I’ll smile and remember. If you ever need me I’ll be there, I don’t care how far. I love you. And you are always my sister. My Sister in Guiding.”

Eventually we split apart our groups finding us and wanting to sing the last few verses with us. And I smiled and laughed as my group comforted me through my tears and hung our arms off each other’s shoulders. And sang the last verses as I watched her leave. And she turned to me and snag with me as she walked off. I don’t know who she was. I never found out. But I knew it didn’t matter. Ever single girl and woman around me was my sister. My sister in Guiding. And they would always be.

So we travel on together,
through the bright and stormy weather,
striving forth in work and game,
we are joined by the Guiding spirit,
the world in ne’r the same.

You are my,
Sister in Guiding,
You’re a friend I can confide in.
No matter if you’re a different race.
Young or old from some far place, a
Sister in Guiding, we share a secret pride,
to make this world a better place in which to be alive.