Making the World a Better Place

By Maria-Lian, 10, New York

Did you know that, for 95 years, Girl Scouts like me have helped make the world a better place? Let me tell you how I have made a difference by being a Girl Scout. I love to help others; I have been helping my community since I was in the first grade. Some of the things I have done include helping with a warm clothing drive and a food drive. Recently, my troop bought holiday presents for a family in need with our dues.

I have also helped by creating things. Those things include catnip toys for the SPCA, lunches for the homeless, a gingerbread house for a soup kitchen, and a sports gift basket to be auctioned off for a children's charity. In Ithaca, where I live, we have a children's garden. My troop helped by weeding and planting a flower garden and a salad garden. The salad was tasty! You can learn more about the Ithaca Children's Garden at www.ithacachildrensgarden.org.

Making the world a better place has helped me grow as a person! Being a Girl Scout has taught me the Golden Rule, good manners, and fire, computer and personal safety. By doing fun activities I have boosted my confidence. Those activities include horseback riding, camping, ropes courses, building a virtual world and presenting it at showcase in Manhattan.

I have met many new people through Girl Scouting, and they have become my friends. All my leaders have influenced me by teaching me skills that I can use in life, such as manners, how to be kind to one another, cooking lessons, snow shoeing and good listening skills.

These women are Mary Clarke, Jennifer Gomez, Laura Morgan and Tracy Brock. I would like to thank them for taking the time to teach me all these great things!

	What is a virtual world? A virtual world is a 3-D space that you can create on a computer as you learn technology skills. My virtual room is about Asian cooking. I chose it because I was born in Le Chang City, in the Guangdong province of China. People can learn about the history of chopsticks, Chinese Tea provinces and teahouses, Chinese New Year foods, and about a book series called DISH. The computer skills I've learned include keyboarding, creating virtual world signs, objects and picture objects. I also learned how to take images about Asian cooking from the Web and put them on picture objects in my virtual room. I know how to link URLs (universal resource locators) to my picture objects and signs. This information then appears in the Web browser when you click on the picture object or sign. The screen shot shows me as an avatar in my virtual room on Asian cooking. If you would like to know more about virtual worlds, please visit www.scicentr.org.

Want to tell the world about YOUR Girl Scouting experience? "Share the News" and send your story to us at share@gogirlsonly.org!

Don't forget to include your name and age.
We look forward to hearing from you!

― The Girls Only Team