As students began to return to school for in-person learning, Girl Scouts in Troop No. 512 wanted to remind their peers of the importance of friendship.
The girls worked together to create a Friendship Bench for their school, Stevenson Ranch Elementary, encouraging students to take a seat if they’re in need of a friend and as a safe place for anyone who needs to talk.
While designing the bench, the troop thought hard about what friendship meant to them.
“I think friendship is being there for each other when you need it the most,” Tristyn Nelson said.
Lola Van Why related friendship to the sun, as you can always count on it to warm you up when you feel cold, “which is similar to when your friends cheer you up when you are blue,” she added.
“To me, friendship is someone to laugh with when things are glad. It’s someone to lean on when things are bad,” Mackenzie Hillhouse said. “And a true friend is someone who will be with you through the good times and the bad.”
For Sunishka Gali, friendship means not only having each other’s backs, but also being able to tell one another everything.
“To me, friendship means trust,” Daniela Dolan added. “I know I have a good friend when I trust that they’re going to be there when I need it.”
Raegan Estrada said being a good friend means being kind and caring, as well as thoughtful and compassionate.
And while friendship can be hard at times, Naya Brand said there will always be friends in your life.
Each girl was given their own slat to decorate however they wanted to describe friendship’s meaning, with designs ranging from suns and smiles to positive quotes and musical notes.
The project was special to the girls, as all of them are in the sixth grade and will be graduating this year, so the bench will always be something special they leave behind that represents their troop.
