Girltopia

=The Girltopia Journey or Visionary Award is the first step towards our Gold Award Projects= == =Step 1 - Read the Journey Book=

Here is the link to the videos we watched at our meeting in October: media type="custom" key="4777509" media type="custom" key="4777541"

Here are links to pdf's of the first 8 pages of the Girltopia Book. Read them and then answer the questions on the form below:
=**Think About it, Talk About It**=

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 * Your Responses**


 * Are there advantages to sometimes hanging out with just girls?**

Yes, there are definitely advantages to hanging out with just girls. Girls tend to be less self-conscious and more relaxed around other girls and no guys, to the point where some girls are unrecognizable around guys. But there are also disadvantages, because girls tend to be sensitive and catty. ~//Aneesa & Nabeela//  There are advantages to hanging out with just girls. If you ever have problems, girls understand it more than guys, and would try to do all they can to help fix the problem. Most guys would not be interested in hearing the problems, or know what to do to solve the problem. //~Miriam// When hanging out with girls, you can feel more confident, more happy, and more relaxed. With girls you can say anything you want and most of the time not get judged. But with them you feel you can share more about yourself then what you would share with a boy. ~//Lauren//


 * In an "ideal" group of girls and boys working together on a project, how do boys act?**

In an ideal group, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference between the people working together based on gender. Because nobody, especially not the guys, would act superior or assume that they would have to work less just because they are male. All the work would be equally shared. ~//Aneesa & Nabeel//a

Boys would have a more care-free attitude when working on a project. They would be more laid back and leave it to the girls to complete the task. The boys would just come to hang out and say they did something. ~//Miriam//

Boys seem to act careless about what the project is, even though some of them, maybe even most of them do care, they act inappropriately because they are around girls, and around other boys. //~Lauren//


 * How do girls relate to one another in all girl environments?**

Us girls have our "girl talk" topics--stuff that guys don't want to hear about--that we can comfortably talk about with each other when there are no guys around. Girls usually tend to be more mature and intelligent just in general, so it's nice to have people on the same level and wavelength as you. And if intelligent topics fail, girls can always talk about guys. [Which is usually the case.] - ~//Aneesa & Nabeela//

Girls can relate to each other more in girl environments because they feel comfortable with telling each other what is going on in their lives. Chances are that another girl had undergone the same situation or is going through the same thing right now. ~ //Miriam// When girls are around other girls, they tend to act more laid back because they know they don't have to "put on a show" for a boy or group of boys. They often feel more comfortable about what they are talking about.~Lauren


 * Do girls act differently around boys?**

YES. ALL THE TIME. Usually in a bad way. In our experience, we have found that a lot of girls put on a ditzy, bubble-headed facade, supposedly in the hopes that the guys will notice them. Where this logic comes from is beyond us, but it happens. And the girls who are subject to these fake acts are incredibly annoying to us reasonable girls who are around them when they are with guys. ~//Aneesa & Nabeela//

Some girls would change the way they relate to one another when a boy is around. If one girl is going through an embarrassing situation, another girl going through the same thing would not confess. They wouldn't want to say anything embarrassing in front of a boy just to impress them. Their attitudes would change in a bad way. ~//Miriam//

It depends on who that girl is. Girls do tend to act differently when boys are around. Even if they do not like the boy, they still act differently. Usually girls tend to act badly to the other girls surrounding them but act well to the boys.~//Lauren//

You will need to read the next 14 pages of the book (7 more pdf's) before completing the Step One of the Journey. I will try to post at a later time.
=Step 2: Create It -= ===Art Project Idea - Create a Wordle. Think about words that would define a Utopian world for girls. Type them into Wordle and it will create a cool visual display of the words. You can find wordle at http://wordle.net./ The more times you repeat a word, the larger it appears. I typed Girltopia 3 times to make it the larger word in my wordle.===

//I will show you how to add yours at the next meeting. Just save it to the public gallery until then.//
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Share your other Girltopia Art project ideas here. We can create an art gallery of projects if you photograph your projects.
=Step 3: Guide It -= ===We could set up a workshop to do with a Junior or Cadette Troop. We could share this video and then maybe do some kind of Our project with them. It could also include some kind of drive for the local women's shelter.=== ===Girltopia Workshop has been scheduled for Thursday, April 15th at 3:30 - 4:30 at St. Helena School. For those at Wardlaw - we will need someone to carpool since I will be staying at the school to set up.===

Share your ideas for the workshop here:
=Step 4: Change It= ===We will be doing the Girl Scout Cabaret and Workshop as our Change It project. What we are changing is the way the girls from different troops and age levels will be working together on a group number rather than competing in performances. It is a small act, but I think it will have positive results. If you would like to do an additional project on your own, that would be great. As you can see from the videos, one girl can make a difference.===

=Step 5: Reflection & Celebration=

We will share what we have learned through this process and celebrate at the end of the year at our Visionary Awards Ceremony which will be part of our End of the Year party.
= = =**More Coming Soon!!** =