Alone, Scared and Hungry
As a young child, I was very protected by my parents. I was sheltered. I was happy in that shelter, oblivious to the cruel world happening around me. I was a Brownie and my mom was an assistant troop leader. I had friends with me and the comfort of my mom always close by. It was perfect. I loved that part of my life. But as I aged out of the Brownies, I was forced into Girl Scouts. For me, this was a lonely time. I had no friends there and many of the other girls were much older. To make matters worse those weekly meetings which I hated took a turn for the even worse when I was forced to attend a camping weekend. Camping was way out of my wheelhouse. It was the most uncomfortable experience I could imagine. I remember arriving and realizing we were sleeping on wood planks raised up over the forest floor in a giant pavilion-type setting. Snakes. Spiders. Dirt. Outhouses. I was not a fan. But that...
