When walking onto the Girls State arena, I could barely grasp the overwhelming number of unfamiliar faces from all over the state. My attempts at looking confident were hopefully successful despite the constant feeling of nerves shaking throughout my body. Luckily, I was able to see some warm faces when meeting with fellow citizens of my parish in our designated counselors’ room before lunch on day one. These girls would go on to become my little group that I would go back and talk to in our dorms at the end of everyday.
Even with a long and tiring week ahead, I knew that debriefing with the girls would be the highlight of each day. Although hasty, these small specks of time prove to form some of the closest bonds that will go on to last a lifetime. It is not a matter of trying to form a clique, but more of finding comfort in people we can go back and reflect on our days with.
After asking a Senior Counselor to look back on her time at Girls State, there is no question that this program is successful in forming lasting relationships. She reflected on the tight-knit nature of her friendships and the importance of debriefing at the end of the day with her now close friends.
Hollyn Guidroz (Senior Counselor) mentions how debriefing is the “driving factor for how people get closer! We’re all tired and want to get to the dorm at the end of the night, but even though we're tired and want to go to bed, we still want to be like ‘Oh my God this program is so awesome’ and we just want to recap from the day. No matter how tired we are, and no matter how many nights in a row we get five hours of sleep, we still want to all come together to talk about how fulfilling this program is for each of us and the citizens.”
Avree Aucoin, Mayor of Bogafalaya Concordia Parish, mentions that “Sela, Bailey, Chloe, and Amy came to me and Emma Grace’s room and we definitely clicked right away, before the night we had already made a group chat. We did remain close throughout the week and will stay close 4L!”
Overall, the Girls State program provides top-notch girls from around Louisiana with the opportunity to form lifelong friendships. Dorming with each other yields results of incredible bonding moments through delirious talks.
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