Hey girls,

Recently I've paid a bit more attention to media, and how they portray how every girl should look and act. Looking at how they expect us all to be like is ridiculous. We have to be skinny like a twig, yet still have curves. Our hair has to be ruler straight some days and curly others. We have to be sexy yet cute. We have to obey men and do as they ask, yet be our own person. Everyone is different and we can not match these expectations. Girls, we don't have to listen to media; everyone likes you for you and not for how the media wants you to look and act. Be strong and be your own person. There is only one of you, and be the best to the best of your abilities! Stay unique and strong girls!

Anne E.

Does anyone else have that problem where they’re supposed to do what they love and build a whole high school identity off that – and yet, they don’t know what they love?

 If we do have an idea at all of who we are, it’s constantly changing and never static. So I think it’s pretty hard to figure out what you love to do, what you really love to do, when you don’t know who you are or what you want. That is, unless you’ve been raised from the age of three doing dance competitions or playing hockey non-stop, then it’s probably set in stone.

 In high school I revved everything up by joining every possible club and committee there was. I was sick of elementary school, and once I was free to be one fish out of all 1,200 at my school, I seized the chance to be anonymous.

 I learned a lot from grade nine, since I was part of so much. I treated the school like my stomping ground – I played three sports, went to leadership camp, did far more than my mandatory forty hours of service – but one thing I didn’t learn was what I loved to do. It was only this year, when those hours of club meetings started falling apart, as I started to drop out of ones I didn’t enjoy, that I began to stop hating the fact that I didn’t have any one thing to my name: I was, and am, a pell-mell of a million different characteristics. I used to see that as a lacking of identity, because there was so much pressure to be somebody and to stick a label on it.

 I’m still someone who is all over the map in every single way, and I am still using my world as my stomping ground, but the thing that has changed is the way I see it. I’m not only a rugby player or only a writer or only a bad singer or only any one thing. Everyone’s a lot more than that. Just because you can’t find a label for what you love to do, doesn’t mean you’re not a person. 

 I’m kind of sick of labels. Who you are doesn’t need to have a word attached, and if you really need it to have one, the only word I can think of that should always be attached to any given personality is happy.

 Love what you do – your life. Do things that make you happy, and if you can’t find “your thing”, don’t stress. It will come. Forget about words, and labels, and superfluous things that high school is all about, and just go with your heart. It sounds cheesy but it’s true:  find that passion, and you’re set.

 Do what you love, and if you don’t know what you love, then set sail all over the map to find it. The winds won’t let you down.  

Love always,

Catherine

For those of you who have lived under a rock in the bottom of the Atlantic (no pun intended) and do not know what the Titanic is, it's a huge cruise ship that was thought to be unsinkable, but hit an iceberg and sank just a few hundred miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The incident occured on the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The ship sank on April 15, 1912, and 1, 517 of the over 2, 200 people on board were killed. The story of the Titanic is considered one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history.

Anyways, the actual boat/sinking is not the subject that I was referring to, exactly. In 1997, there was a fictional movie released based on the story of the Titanic. Written and directed by James Cameron (who, yes, also directed Avatar), the film starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. (Just to let you know, I have full intentions of becoming Mrs. DiCaprio someday; that man is a smokeshow). The movie was about a fictitious woman, Rose DeWitt Bukater, who came from a high social class, and was forbidden to associate with, much less be in a relationship with, commoner Jack Dawson (DeCaprio)  who won his ticket onto the Titanic in a game of poker. The two fall in love, defying Rose's mother and fiance, and are torn apart as quickly as they were brought together when the ship sinks. The film is told from the perspective of Rose, as an old woman, having survived the disaster, and she recounts the events right from boarding the ship, to the famous, "I'll never let go, Jack."

The film has amazing special effects and ocean scenery considering it premiered almost fifteen years ago. It quickly became one of the top grossing movies of all time (I'm talking 1.8 BILLION dollars here) as well as one of the most beloved. I fell in love with the movie the very first time I watched it when I was seven years old, and have watched it countless times since then. 

This April 15 will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and in honour of this occasion, the movie is being re-released in IMAX and 3D. This essentially means that the already amazing visuals will now be absoloutely mind-blowing. I, for one, could not be more excited. While some argue that it is pointless to go see a movie you've already seen, I feel this is a movie that is different every time you watch it.  There's always something new you notice that makes it just slightly better than the last time. 

The movie is being released in theatres on April 4, 2012, and I will be making a special trip to the closest theatre (a five-hour drive away, thank you very much) to see it during opening week.

If you have been deprived of this necessity of life, I highly suggest you go see it. Even though it's nearly 3.5 hours long, it's well worth it, I assure you :) 

Here on the Patrol site, we've been posting reviews of quite a few YA novels through the GGC book club. HarperCollins Canada has been great in providing us with books every month that "appeal" to a "teen" audience.

But what does that mean? That these books don't appeal to an adult audience? 'Cause quite a few of them have been read and thoroughly enjoyed by adults here at the GGC national office. Does it mean that teens don't want to read books for adults? Well, we all know that isn't true at all!

Over at the Grid, they raise the question, "What's the point of YA fiction?" and highlight a great new book (that you just might be seeing here very soon!) What do you think of YA fiction? Do you find the label useful or condescending? Does having the label mean that books for teens aren't as "good" as books for adults? Does YA fiction "appeal" to you? How do you decide what books to read and what books not to read?

By Elizabeth W. GSUSA Age: 14

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word giraffe? Is it spots or a long neck or the zoo? Is it that Halloween when your spider costume ended up looking more like a sickly giraffe? For me, it’s the Lime Green Giraffe.

No, I’m not losing my mind or reminiscing about an old stuffed animal. I’m talking about an online magazine written by teen Girl Scouts, for teen Girl Scouts.

If you clicked here, you’d see a big “Welcome! “and the face of GiGi, the lime green giraffe. You would see the editorial and the cover photo; you would see the six sections of the online magazine. But who wrote that editorial, and who are the girls in the photo? How are the articles split into six categories, and who decides how each photo will look?

Rewind to four months ago, and you’ll find 14 teenage Girl Scouts from the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta sitting around a table at Georgia Tech, equipped with snacks and their imaginations. These girls are the Lime Green Giraffe staff.

Lots of work goes into a single issue of the Lime Green Giraffe, which comes out twice a school year, February and August. First, there’s the brainstorming. We, the Lime Green Giraffe staff members, shout out random things, piggyback off each other’s ideas, and end up filling at least two posters with our possible story ideas. Once every ounce of creative juice has been squeezed out of us and we can think of no more, we decide who will write which article. Not all the ideas make it into the magazine. Some are saved for a later issue, and others are tossed away. The ones that do make the magazine are then sorted by the staff into the six categories: “Totally Girl Scouts”, “Girl Talk,” “Did U Know?”, “Fun Stuff”, “Meet the Staff”, and “Events & Forms”.

With our focus on the article ideas that were chosen, we pick a theme that correlates to most of the articles such as Change, Going Green, or Travel. However, there are times when the articles seem to have no relation whatsoever. In those times, we decide to not decide.  In other words, there is no theme.

Whether there’s a theme or not, the next step that goes into making the LGG happen is writing. Writing, writing, writing. You couldn’t have a magazine without it, so naturally this is the most important part. We don’t do anything fancy for this most important part. We don’t have “writing sessions” in which we meet and sit around a table for three hours silently working. We don’t have phone conferences where we all give our input on each other’s articles. We don’t read our articles aloud, waiting for feedback. We write our articles on our own time, in whatever manner we choose. Writing is done best when the writer does things her own way. It sounds plain, but this way each article remains unique and interesting.

There are several leadership positions on the LGG staff: the copy editor, the photo editor, and the artistic director. Prospective leaders write a page on why they would like the position, and several mystery judges decide on the lucky winners. While every girl on the LGG staff contributes to the magazine’s success, these three girls put in a little extra. The copy editor edits the other staff members’ articles before they are published, and many times she writes the editorial. The artistic director draws any original art that is needed, such as a doodle of GiGi. The photo editor takes the “Meet the Staff” photos and helps organize our photo shoots.

Wait a second. Photo shoots? As in arrogant models with bossy agents demanding to be fanned with palm fronds and a photographer who says, “Darling, you really need to lose weight.”? Not quite. In fact, our photo shoots are the exact opposite. Our photographer Bob Ross is excellent, and the models are Girl Scouts just like us.

The photo shoots require the most planning, but they’re also the most fun. Each LGG staff member directs a photo. She tells her two or three models what to bring, how to dress, and how to pose. Then it’s off to the photography room, where the staff member gets to step back and see how the shot will look in the magazine. The girls pose; the camera clicks away. A few test shots, and then Photographer Bob gets serious. Flyaway hairs are suddenly noticed, and awkward spaces are filled. His motto is “Looking natural isn’t so easy.” It’s true; lots of adjusting and rethinking is necessary during a shoot.

Most girls are timid when they first step in front of the camera. Their confidence builds as Photographer Bob takes more and more shots, so that by the end they look like pros. Out of all the photos we take, only one is picked by the LGG staffer directing the shot. Now the models wait to see their faces in the magazine. 

The articles are written; the pictures are taken; and now the Lime Green Giraffe is live! It’s exciting to see the magazine, to read through all the articles, to see the photo that you directed. None of that would have happened without two special volunteers: Marnye Hall and Melissa Gerrior. They schedule the meetings, they email reminders, they keep us on task, and they bring energy to every meeting and event we do. They help us out with whatever we need, whether it’s LGG related or not. They have been with the LGG since its beginning in 2004, and have done so much for Girl Scouts.

There you have it: an inside look at what goes on at one of the only Girl Scout magazines written by girls, for girls! From the first meeting, to the awesome volunteers, you’ve learned what goes into making the Lime Green Giraffe. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Georgia's only online magazine written by teen Girl Scouts for teen Girl Scouts!
http://www.gsgatl.org/LGG/default.asp