Vision Boards - Young Women activity

It is difficult as a leader to find activity ideas that fit the criteria we run on. Inexpensive, fun, meaningful, but good for uniting us as a group.  This activity works for all of those reasons, and was surprisingly a big hit with the girls too.

YOU WILL NEED
Lots of magazines, junk mail flyers and catalogs for cutting up
Glue Sticks
Scissors for each girl
Markers and any embellishments you like (stickers, journal cards, washi tape)
Poster or Paper to mount the collage on

Growing up me and my sisters would make what we called a "Goal Poster". A collage of goals and dreams and things we found pretty and personalized to our hopes.  I remember a poster of mine and happily realize I have completed those things that were only a dream to me as a youth.  This concept, of setting goals and working towards our dreams, is especially important to the our youth.  They will not end up with the dreams they have unless they fill their minds with those ends, thus spurring action.

We met at the church, but this would be great at girls camp or even an overnight retreat. As leaders we shared thoughts on the importance of setting goals.  This is a great talk you can refer to on why we simply MUST take control of our thoughts and put positive images there. (you'll remember the quote "Don't do dumb things with your smart phone" from this address).  It was given by Randall Ridd, and just a few thoughts from it will serve your purpose.

I printed up the following and handed it out to each girl and asked them to include it on their collage.

(Just right click and save, then use in your choice of document printer)

We also read from Preach My Gospel, where you will find great tips on goal setting on page 146.  With a short personal message on truly working for what we want we also handed out the following handout. 

"Don't give up what you want in life for something you think you want now"

Next, begin the search your magazine stash for images that reflect what you want in your life.  This can include words, phrases, pictures, and we even used scrapbook journaling cards for the girls to list and write on.  If you have more time you can fill a poster board (I would suggest cutting it in half) but we used 12 x 12 scrapbook paper.

Here is what mine looked like. (YES-do this with your girls!)

A couple of pointers; look for smaller images, and have a wide variety of magazines to flip through.  Include church magazines, fitness, home and garden, etc- even if it isn't something the girls are obsessed with right now, if it pertains to their future they will appreciate those pictures.  I was so impressed and humbled by the things the girls were picking to included on their vision boards.  Also, refrain from coaching them at all unless they ask for your opinion. An article on David Archuletta was found and it created a frenzy of cutting and gluing....well, I loved that.  There are certainly worse picks for girls to dream about falling in love with, right? (Funny enough, when we got in the car to leave his song came on the radio right at that moment. Proof to me that the universe has an incredible sense of humor!)

We just used glue sticks, but had scissors for every girl and lots of markers for their use.  This project can take longer than you might guess, because as the girls find things they love they will share their dreams with each other. This is probably my favorite part of the project.

Encourage them to hang them where they can see them every day and ask them to ponder what they are doing to work towards the desires of their heart. 

From one of my girls, the night of our activity

One of my cute girls shared her photo in front of her mini-poster on her wall. It included books, a guitar, the Manti Temple, and other small pictures (and a big cut out of David A) that interested her.  She was excited about it,and anxious to hang it up in her bedroom.  I believe it is very validating (and challenging) to really think about what we want out of life.

Hopefully this is an activity that you can use and benefit from. Keep living your dreams and enjoy the desires of your heart.