girl scouts of the colonial coast
Girl Scout Frances has earned her Gold Award, the
highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouts.
Frances is a girl with a vision. Her project, “Self-Love: The
Internal Makeover,” focused on building self-esteem by utilizing mindfulness
techniques and messages of self-love. In doing so, Frances hoped that girls
would be less likely to fall under the influence of forces that might strip
away a positive self-image at a time when girls are most susceptible to peer
and societal influence.
“The root cause of low self-esteem in girls is
multifaceted,” she said. “Girls often have difficulty identifying their feelings
and responding to those feelings. Ofte
n, they worry excessively and are
anxious. They think negatively about themselves, their life’s situation, and
their peer’s response to them.”
Frances partnered with leaders in her community such as the
women of the Lucille Seals Empowerment Center, Alpha Kappa Alpha, the Norfolk
State Fashion Design program and other women and men to host a series of twenty
sessions for young girls. During these sessions, the girls worked in groups and
at each session, they focused on a new principle such as: mutual respect,
self-determination, and believing in oneself, to name a few.
With the help of her Gold Award, Frances learned time
management skills and discovered that friendliness, cooperation, and
organization are keys to success.
“It was important that girls learned that I truly wanted
them to grow in happiness and personal success so their beauty would shine from
within,” she said.
