Girls in the Know - Transition camp
I'd initially went to volunteer for Transition camp for an organization here in Stl called Girls in the Know that focuses on educating and empowering mothers and their pre-teen daughters while encouraging positive decisions and healthy behaviors as girls mature into adulthood, at Ferguson Middle(my old middle school) - the transition camp was a camp for incoming 7th graders and getting them ready for that big transition to junior high. I felt in my heart to go and volunteer because I definitely wish someone could've told me and helped me get an idea of middle school and relieved some of the anxiety I had about first starting junior high.
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| Girls in the Know - Knowledge is Power! |
Also, to remember that it's not about how you fall but how you get up is what counts. This camp has been a learning, rejuvenating, empowering experience! There were things that I've learned that I didn't know about myself - that it's ok to feel uncomfortable to be comfortable. If you're always in your comfort zone you will never know how much you can accomplish.
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| The importance of a positive mindset |
Day 1 of Transition camp we focused on similarities and differences - we can all have different interests but that doesn't mean we cannot agree on some things that we all like. The power of music - music is powerful and sometimes we just need that one phrase or chorus to get us through our trying times. It's always good to have atleast a song or two to resort back to for motivation, hope, and encouragement. We also explored different styles and genres of music - we laughed, we had a great deal of fun, and most of all we embraced one another and the moment.
Sometimes we tend to dwell on and put too much time on that one negative comment said about us vs. those 99 positive things said about us. Think of life like a camera - focus on what's important and capture the good times. Only you can choose what you put your time and energy into.
Day 2 of Transition camp we discussed the difficulties of starting middle school, such as the drastic changes your body goes through, trying to figure out who your true friends are, and most of all trying to find WHO YOU ARE!
Celebrating one another helps us keep our confidence and gives up strength. Otherwise, comparing can be a negative act against yourself. We are all unique with many unique abilities and that's the beauty of it!!
We then went to the mirror activity which focused on self-steem. The objective was for every girl to look in the mirror and find positive and negative things about themselves. Then point out the negative things they could and couldn't change - they were told to embrace what you couldn't change because every 'flaw' is what makes them who they are.
Also, it's important to take into consideration about how others percieve you only depending on who they are because it's things we don't see in ourselves, both positive and negative. Those observations can help us in the long run.
Sometimes it's hard to stay physical because when we think of physical we immediately think of 'excerise' but being physical could even just be walking to the bathroom, running down the hall, or even playing with your siblings. Being physically active is good for your mental health. It releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Our physical activities for the day started off with a relay race - then at 3 different stations we had dribbling and shooting, push-ups and sit-ups, and jumping jacks and different stretches - it did indeed increase the girl's heart rate and energy level.
Sometimes we tend to dwell on and put too much time on that one negative comment said about us vs. those 99 positive things said about us. Think of life like a camera - focus on what's important and capture the good times. Only you can choose what you put your time and energy into.
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| Exploration of different styles and genres of music |
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| Stephanie Booker, Girls in the Know intern |
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| Ideas of a good/positive song |
Celebrating one another helps us keep our confidence and gives up strength. Otherwise, comparing can be a negative act against yourself. We are all unique with many unique abilities and that's the beauty of it!!
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We then went to the mirror activity which focused on self-steem. The objective was for every girl to look in the mirror and find positive and negative things about themselves. Then point out the negative things they could and couldn't change - they were told to embrace what you couldn't change because every 'flaw' is what makes them who they are.
Also, it's important to take into consideration about how others percieve you only depending on who they are because it's things we don't see in ourselves, both positive and negative. Those observations can help us in the long run.
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"Love me some me" mirror activity |
Sometimes it's hard to stay physical because when we think of physical we immediately think of 'excerise' but being physical could even just be walking to the bathroom, running down the hall, or even playing with your siblings. Being physically active is good for your mental health. It releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Our physical activities for the day started off with a relay race - then at 3 different stations we had dribbling and shooting, push-ups and sit-ups, and jumping jacks and different stretches - it did indeed increase the girl's heart rate and energy level.
To close it out each and every girl made a tree pose and all connected hands. It had a little twist which was - friends are always good to have, even if you have that one bestfriend because together we can build one another up. We closed out the end of the day with a marshallow activity with toothpicks, we all worked together and made some unique inventions.
Day 3 of Transition camp we started our day of with the incomparable, one and only, Prince! (Thanks to Julie :))
While friendships mean something special to every individual, no matter what - love should be over all in every friendship, first and foremost. Friendships tend to be more complicated when friends are dishonest - when friends truly care they are honest with you, by any means. Each girl then went into friendships and what friendships meant to them. Friends make you feel good about who you are.
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| The Artist aka Prince |
Peer pressure is something we've all experienced or could experience through our lifetime - we tend to give in to pressure of our peers because we want to be 'liked' or even feel important. We did an experiment on peer pressure with tootsie rolls in a jar.
The girls were asked to make a guess of how many tootsie rolls they thought were in the jar in all. Every girl went around to a different girl to see what they had come up with. The last guess was based off of all the predictions made before of what each girl guessed. While some were closer to the correct amount, some were farther off.
This lesson had a twist to it also, of course! It was to make your own guess and what you really thought rather than talking to peers and getting easily influenced - sometimes being influenced can put you in a unintended harmful situation or I shall say between "a rock and a hard place."
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| Say "NO!" to peer pressure Last but certainly not least we closed the day out with Sheila Cunningham, CEO/founder of the Get fit crew, with kickboxing. It was such a rejuvenating experience and a huge amount of fun. While having fun, we still got in a great amount of excercise and released some steam. We were so honored to have spent the time we did with her!          
The beautiful, Sheila Cunningham and Girls in the Know!
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T.H.I.N.K before you post - is it true, is it helpful, is it inspiring, is it necessary, or is it kind? Anything you post on social media is a reflection of what kind of person you are, it could be good or bad. When someone clicks on your page and wants to know something about you - everything you posted will give them an idea of who you are even if it's not the "real" you. If you respect yourself, others will.
Yoga helps to develop a positive, healthy, and peaceful attitude towards life. Some benefits of yoga are that it focuses on the mind, calms the mind, promotes relaxation breathing, balances the body and mind etc. The girls had tried Yoga for the first time and let me tell you - it was great to see them stepping out of their comfort zone and put so much effort into it while also letting it all naturally flow after getting in the feel of it all.
"NAMASTE"
After Yoga and to close out the end of the day and the last day of camp the girls teamed up into 3 groups and constructed prom dresses made of toilet paper and cray paper - they were absolutely FAB-U-LOUS and so colorful! What a great way to end camp!
Although, I am sad that camp has ended, along with this wonderful experience and opportunity - I am excited to see and hear about the girls' experience with starting middle school in a few weeks. These girls are the future! I am just so proud of all that they have had to offer - so driven, determined in all they do. I have hope not only because I believe but because they gave me a reason to keep to believing. A huge thanks to Girls in the Know - words cannot express how honored I am to have had this opportunity. Thanks so much! Xo, Kenidra. ❤
