Pembroke Pink Dragons

A few weeks ago, I sent out 19 inquiry letters to schools across Western New York. A week later, I received an email from Ms. Carrie Schober about possibly speaking at Pembroke Elementary School. She offered to have me speak in front of the whole school, but also mentioned a club that she advises for 5th and 6th grade girls. Their name: the Pink Dragons. (Because, of course, Pembroke’s mascot is a dragon. The girls don’t breathe fire or anything.)

I jumped at the opportunity! This was exactly the type of group I had been hoping to speak to. The club focuses on girl empowerment through the use of discussions, lessons, and crafts, in the hopes that some of the drama and bullying in the school will be diminished. As Ms. Schober described it in one of her emails to me, “Our club was created to address the social, emotional, and communication needs that we believe pre-teens experience. The girls participate in crafting, cooking, healthy communication, and decision-making among many other things.”

How cool is that? When I first met Ms. Schober as we set up for the speech on Friday, March 12th, she filled me in on how much the girls love the club. They snack and craft and just have a whole lot of fun. She herself was sporting a tie-dye T-shirt that all the girls made. Lately, even some boys have been begging to get in, to no avail.

Don’t you wish your school had this club when you were in middle school or junior high?

I was so excited to meet with these girls, because I still remember how absolutely terrible middle school was. I’m pretty sure they were the most pitiful, depressing three years of my entire education. (No offense to my WONDERFUL middle school teachers. Mrs. Tryka, Mrs. Tedeschi, Mr. Robinson, etc: It wasn’t your fault. You tried your best, but there’s only so much you can do.) Your emotions are constantly changing. You’re constantly changing. You have more school work and more expectations than ever before. You’re judged on everything, and you deeply care about people’s opinions of you. Girls are terrible to each other, and you’re terrible right back. I broke up a lot of good friendships during middle school, and I remember coming home in tears more than once. In sixth grade, I slapped my friend Liz across the face because she got a 99 on a clay plate art project, and I only got a 98. (No, really. I couldn’t possibly make that up. But it’s okay, because we’re still friends.)

Thank God that’s over.

But it’s not over for the 50 members of the Pink Dragons, and I don’t want them to have that same experience! I want them to have a wonderful, enriching, self-empowering time in 5th and 6th grade. I want them to build up their self-confidence for high school, and have great friendships. I don’t want any girls getting slapped in the face. Which is why I’m so glad to see this club working so effectively. I think every school should have a Pink Dragons Club! (They may want to change the mascot to fit their own school, however.)

When the girls started to filter into the cafeteria, they would get really quiet when they saw me. Ms. Schober told me that she had showed a lot of the girls this blog, and they were really excited to meet me in person. Unfortunately, 15 of the girls couldn’t make it to the meeting due to All-County Band practice. (But good for them! Congrats, girls!)
One band member, Allie, even wrote me a letter to apologize! It was absolutely adorable, and I loved it. Thanks Allie!

Ms. Schober began the meeting with a discussion of role models, asking the girls to split into groups and discuss what qualities comprise good and bad role models. I was amazed at the very astute answers the girls gave. So many girls talked about how their mom is their greatest role model, which lead perfectly into the beginning of my speech. I spoke about some of my role models growing up, including my mom, who first helped me decide to go out for Miss Teen of New York. As I told them about my Miss Teen journeys, I brought up all the new role models I’ve gained from my experiences, between my Miss Teen directors and other titleholders. (So if your ears were ringing that Friday, you now know why!) I had a speech prepared, but I felt so comfortably around the girls that I was able to ad-lib the whole thing. I think it worked out better that way.

After my speech, the girls got to ask me some questions. The questions started off with pretty basic inquiries pertaining to my Miss Teen experiences. Then they got a little more personal, getting to the root of what the club is about. I was asked if I was ever nervous to speak in front of people, or if I was ever bullied. I think the girls were surprised when I said “Yes” to all of those questions. I don’t think the girls expected that I’ve had the same experiences that they’re going through right now. I was very happy to tell them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it will get better.

As I began to pack up, the girls got a chance to check out my scrapbooks that I brought along. I also didn’t make it out the door without posing for pictures on the girls’ cell phone cameras and giving a lot of hugs goodbye.

The Pink Dragons were so awesome. Their energy just uplifted my spirits for the rest of the day. I’m hoping that won’t be the last time I see my Pink Dragons!