It was early in the morning on a wet day, I was lost and had to ask complete strangers to help me find my way. But this was just because I was too excited to think straight; a magazine which I have avidly obtained weekly for about 3 years was agreeing to let me and other Girlguiding Advocates loose on it!
The day started with a wonderful breakfast spread put on by the Stylist team, all of us sitting round a large table discussing our journeys and what we had been doing recently in our Girlguiding groups, a topic which was made all the more exciting due to the recent introduction of new badges. And then it began. We had a meeting about what we were passionate about and what was important to us and our friends in today’s society. I was nervous at first, I was unsure of myself and whether what I had to say was worthwhile (it clearly was because it made it into a magazine in three separate articles). But after a few minutes I began to get more involved, more engaged and excited by how passionate everyone around me was; it was electric.
Throughout the day we had a camera crew watching us from the sides of the room (a fact we were told to ignore to make it look more natural) with fluffy microphones which were pushed nearer to you whenever you spoke. We also took part in a multitude of interviews in which we discussed our excitement to be part of such a wonderful project, what our opinions were on different topics and answered questions like ‘which literary character would you bring to a dinner party?’ (Moira from ‘The Handmaids Tale’ all the way!) and then it was time for lunch. We had pizza and I learnt more about all of the wonderful experiences we have had within Girlguiding, from trips away to the fun games played at weekly meetings.
Following this, we had a photoshoot and were filmed walking down a road. Have you ever had that moment where you overthink a simple action and end up forgetting how to do it? Well, this was me walking down a road; suddenly I couldn’t remember where you put your arms or how far you’re supposed to step and how to not trip up. But it was still one of the best experiences of my whole entire life and seeing the magazine when it came out was brilliant! I was so proud to see my name in print next to articles I had written and drawings I had created. Thank you so much to Girlguiding for such a brilliant experience, I will treasure the experience forever.
