Beautiful Love Affair

It was a love affair, a romantic story to tell. Fate brought us here. Yes, it was destiny. It was a mere fantasy that has come to life. It was magic. There were fireworks in the sky. Nope, I will not tell you about my love story; but my love story with service and carefree volunteerism.

“Oh! So are you selling cookies?” No fail, this has always been the first question asked to me whenever I tell people that I am a Girl Scout. Yes, the girls in green, loud and proud. Most of the people think that Girl Scouting is designed for young little girls. But what they do not know is that the Girl Scouting life does not stop there. Girls Scouts can age from 3 to 100!

Girl Scouting is in my bloodline. My grandmother and my mother were active girl scouts during their times. Both of them were Girl representatives to the central board. My mom was sent to Hong Kong and New York for international conferences to represent the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. And me, well, I was designed to be a Girl Scout.

I am lucky enough to have Girl Scouting in my past schools, St. Gerard School and International School for Better Beginnings, both in Lucena City. First and foremost, my driving force in volunteering for this movement is because of my role models, my grandmother and my mother. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to follow their footsteps and achieve as much as they have. But as I engage myself in this beautiful endeavor, I further discover my true calling. It’s not only because I wanted to follow the footsteps of my grandmother and my mother but because I want to reach out, inspire, and empower other girls who share the same passion with me.

Any initiative is better than nothing. We have to start somewhere. We cannot just lie down on our beds and watch the sunrise and sunset in order to see the change we want to happen. We have to make that change happen.

In my more than a decade of being a Girl Scout, I am very fortunate and glad with what I have achieved as a volunteer. I was awarded as a Chief Girl Scout Medalist in 2011. I am elected as a Girl Representative to the Central board for the Southern Luzon Region in 2012. I was sent to Chicago, Illinois for the Girls’ World Forum in 2012 as well. Currently, I am a part of the girl planning team for the National Girl Gathering 2013.

As an active Girl Scout, I oblige myself to be a better person and be that change woman in order to spread out change in the world. Not only do I share what I know and have learned to the people around me, but to inspire them to move and take action too. Being of service means being helpful and doing the right things. Service makes the world better. Taking action means striving to make the world better in pursuing a long-term impact.

I am awakened by the pain of reality which brings me in formulating a vision; a vision I want to share with the world so that, we can make that vision a reality. I cannot achieve this on my own, but I firmly believe that it has to begin somewhere, if not them, me.

Mahatma Gandhi believes that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Volunteering and being of service do not do any harm. However, there are a lot of sacrifices to be done but it will surely pay off. It is important to be passionate and be in love with what you are doing. It helps you create the most fruitful outcome. You would not feel any pain or tiredness because at the end of the day, despite the challenges, you have a big smile on your face and looking forward to continue it in the coming days.

In GWF 2012, there was a quote which really moved me. “If you can change people, you can change the world.” Changing the world is no easy to ask and we have to start somewhere. And that’s where volunteering begins.

Contributed by:

Julienne Therese V. Salvacion

Ateneo de Manila University

BS Legal Management minor in Development Management