Why I Guide? Adventures!

Julie Ramsay
Guide and Trex Guider / Website Specialist / BC Camping Committee
Lives in Coquitlam and has been a Girl Guide for 40+ years

“I started as a Brownie with other girls from my neighbourhood, and it was fun. I continued through Guides because my friends were there and we had some amazing Guiders. My Pathfinder Guiders, especially, were really adventurous, and they opened my eyes and really pushed us beyond what I was currently doing with my family. They took us to Baffin Island on a backpacking trip, and that trip not only kept me in Guiding―it changed my life and made me more confident. Up until that point, I was really shy and always afraid of making mistakes, and I didn’t really like putting myself out there. But after that trip and seeing what I could accomplish, it changed a lot for me in my personal life, but also it kept me in Guiding because I could see the opportunities that could come from it. Having those Guider role models absolutely influences me as a Guider today. It changed the image and helped me find my tribe―we tend to associate Guides as being crafts and the boys get to go off and do all the fun and adventurous stuff. So having had that experience 30+ years ago―that we could go off as girls and do something super adventurous―and to just see that there are other women out there who are passionate about the outdoors, definitely framed the kind of Guider I want to be now. I want to show the girls that there’s more to Guiding than crafts, and our meetings and camps can be active and exciting. I’ve remained involved in Guiding because of the people I’ve met―whether I’m at a training or a meeting,  or at a camp weekend, I feel like I’m with people who are like-minded, and who share my vision of the world. They are as passionate about doing cool stuff with the girls as I am. Guiding is my tribe!”