How did I get here?

 Sometimes I lie in bed at night wondering, how did I get here? Not in the philosophical sense, but in the how did I just agree to that crazy idea, sense. Over my life, I have found myself in various scenarios that push me to the brink of my comfort zone, and I always ask myself “how did I get here?” 

The answer is always because Sheelagh, who sat on the bus with you between the 2nd and 4rth grade, talked you into giving up on your dreams of becoming the next Elizabeth Manley, and join Girl Guides with her.

Yep, it is always that simple! You have heard of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, I have the six degrees of tracing this adventure back to Sheelagh in the second grade.

Once upon a time I trained very hard, skated six days a week, in hopes of becoming an Olympic figure skater. Then, one May roughly 1990, Sheelagh told me all about Brownies, and the Fly Up ceremony she was going to that night. From then on, I thought about how I wanted to do that too. I would unfortunately learn that the window for having a Fly Up ceremony from Brownies to Guides was closed for me, but that I could still join Girl Guides, without flying up. (That didn’t sound nearly as fun, but Sheelagh assured me it was.)

HOWEVER, if I joined Girl Guides, I could not go to figure skating on Wednesday nights. Hmmm, was I ready to quit skating for good? Then Sheelagh told me that in Girl Guides, they go camping. Wait, what? What is camping? I had never heard of it. Roasted marshmallows? Aren’t marshmallows just for making Rice Krispie Squares? The more she talked the rest of that school year, the more I was convinced that I NEEDED to join Girl Guides.

After my parents asked again and again, was I sure, did I really want to quit figure skating, to join Girl Guides of all things? I was positive this was the thing for me. (My parents must have been so relieved! Who agrees to let an 8 year old figure skate 6 days a week?)

September rolled around, and I joined Girl Guides. Nothing Sheelagh told me prepared me for what those first meetings held. This was because a) Sheelagh herself had never been to Girl Guides and b) our leader was brand new and learning as she went. The girls that I met that night quickly became my Ride or Die core group of friends that got me through my adolescence. It was like the movie The Sandlot. Sure, girls moved away, and sometimes new ones joined, but we never fully replaced them in the group. We just kept going with whoever was left.

By the time I left Guiding as a youth, I had completed Girl Guides, Pathfinders and a couple of years of the Cadet/Junior Leader program. There were probably 6 girls that stayed together that entire time, and we had some epic adventures. Between camping, all nighters (we called them Sleep Nots,) river rafting, adventure parks, and everything in between we gained some serious life experience and skills. Those skills would later in life translate into first jobs, post secondary, raising a family (babysitter badge anyone?) and much more.

Most importantly, Girl Guides taught me not to be afraid to say YES. Which is how I end up in situations where I wonder how did I get here? So here is to the next crazy adventure! Conquering all 115 Ontario Provincial Parks with the new cool cats I have met as an adult in Guiding. Here’s to adventures, saying yes, and not being afraid of new things.

-Country Cat