FRIENDSHIP BREAKUPS - What do you wish you knew when you were 17?  My Girl Scouts are 17 and about to graduate from high school, and I'm trying to help prepare them for situations they may encounter in life.   In this week's meeting, we will talk about how to handle breakups.  A lot has been written about breakups with boyfriends, but female friendships are very different from romantic relationships.  Losing a good friend can be very painful.  How do you deal with friendship breakups?  What advice would you give a young woman about this subject?

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How do Women and Men communicate differently?

So - at our next Girl Scout meeting this Friday night, we'll be continuing the conversation about "What I wish someone had told me when I was 17 or 18" with the subject:  How do Women and Men communicate differently?  A lot has been researched on this topic in recent years, but I'm not sure that we are communicating better!  I'm mostly drawing from my research of Deborah Tannen.  I'd like to ask THIS group - How do you think Women and Men communicate differently?  How do you best communicate with the opposite sex? 

I introduced the subject, and now would like your opinion about what we are talking about at this week's Girl Scout meeting:  HOW TO TALK WITH A BOY (that you are interested in).  (And how to talk with ANYONE!)

Some of my girls have started dating, others haven't.  One of my Girl Scout's parents came up with this subject, and I think it is very apt - no matter whether you grew up in the 1920's or in the 21st century, how to talk with the opposite sex has been a mystery for many of us. Many books have been written about communication between men and women.  So - what advice would you give to my girls about talking with the opposite sex?

I'm a Girl Scout leader in Lilburn, Georgia with a group of 7 girls who have had many amazing and growing experiences together in the last 12 years.  (Traveling to Iceland and England, Western Washington and Canada, Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary in Savannah, Smoky Mountains, canoeing in the Okefenokee, etc.) 

The girls are graduating from high school this year, and I've been taking each meeting to talk about things they will be facing in their lives.  We have talked about:  Happiness - what is it, how to create it in your life and Career Planning for Women.

So I am curious about YOUR opinion.  What do you wish that someone would have talked with you about when YOU were 17?