CA Rainbow Girls

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls in California

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Embrace Change

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By: Sydney W., Grand Worthy Advisor

While this may come as no surprise to anyone reading this article, my all-time favorite place in the whole entire world is Disneyland. From the thrills of the many rides, to the delicious food and drinks, and even the very atmosphere of Disneyland itself has had me hooked for most of my life. As I have grown up, Disneyland has “grown up” alongside me. When I was first going to Disneyland, Bug’s Land was still around, the Snow White ride was still scary, and even the Hollywood Tower Hotel was still looming overhead in California Adventure. Since then, Disney has made new advancements and changes to make the park what we know and love today. Change has been vital for Disneyland to remain relevant over the years, which is an idea that can be applied to our own lives. 

Making change and facing the unknown is one of the most common fears that people face. To most, change is a difficult thing because it means that outcomes are usually unknown. Our brains are designed to find peace in knowing. When we don’t know what will happen, we make up scenarios and, in turn, create worry. The fear of failure also comes into play to create a fear of change. If we don’t know how something will turn out, we may rather not try because the outcome could be bad. Trying something new becomes a risk. The one thing we know about change is it’s going to happen, but we don’t know how we’re going to feel going through it or when we will come out the other side. And that’s why it can feel scary. Change means stepping into the unknown, outside of our comfort zone, where things are easy and safe. Why would we want to leave this happy place? Because things might get even better.

Whether you recognize it or not, change is always happening and it is important to remember that change is a very important part of life. One reason is because change makes life exciting. Change means you have variety in life, you experience new things, meet new people. If you think about it, life would be pretty predictable and dull if nothing ever changed. In addition, every change you experience gives you the opportunity to learn and grow, even if it is as simple as just learning about an amazing new coffee shop. You learn new things about yourself, others or the world, which can impact how you live your life. Another important aspect of change are the new opportunities that can be brought into our lives. It may seem daunting moving into a new place but your new roommate may introduce you to someone who ends up changing your life. Another important thing about change is that it allows us to realize our strength. There is no denying some changes can be tough but getting through these can show us our strength. Have you ever been through a difficult change? If so, then I’m sure you remember the strength it took to get through it and remember if you can get through that, then you can get through the new thing life throws at you. Finally, change gives you a chance to re-evaluate your life. Have you ever made a change and then realized what you were doing before wasn’t as great as you thought it was? That can happen many times throughout life and making changes gives you the opportunity to make sure you’re doing what you actually want to be doing. One of my favorite quotes by Walt Disney himself states that, “Disneyland will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Did you know that when Disneyland first opened, they only had 33 rides? And California Adventure was just a parking lot. If Disneyland hadn’t continued to grow and change over the years, its relevance would have faded, and the Disneyland that we know would never have come into fruition. We wouldn’t be able to travel around the world on Soarin’, enjoy the thrills of Space Mountain, or even watch the magical nighttime spectaculars like Fantasmic or World of Color. Change can be scary but it’s worth embracing because it can bring some amazing things into your life.

Who’s the Leader of the Pack?

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By: Carley L., Assistant Grand Editor

Come one, come all to learn about our very own Grand Worthy Advisor in California, Sydney Warney! Sydney was initiated into Natoma Assembly at Grand Assembly 2015 in a beautiful, sparkly, blue dress, inspired by her favorite Disney princess Cinderella. Sydney grew up watching Cinderella with her sisters Kenna, Emma, and her mom, Katy. Her sister Emma is a Past Worthy Advisor of Natoma and Kenna is currently in the line as Faith. Katy is Director of Youth Protection and was part of the Excellently Elegant Elephants, serving as Grand Fidelity, which happens to be Sydney’s favorite bow office and no, she is not biased. Sydney received her Past Worthy Advisor pin after presiding as Worthy Advisor for Natoma Assembly in 2019 & 2020. Sydney has received the Grand Editors Trophy (2018) and Grand Cross of Color (2020).  She also served on the State PR Team (2019-2020), the State Leadership Team (2020-2022), and the Supreme Ritual Team in 2020 and 2022, where she held the offices of Worthy Associate Advisor and Worthy Advisor. This year she will serve as Patriotism, while she participates in the California Bow Team Ritual competition at Supreme Assembly.

Outside of Rainbow, Sydney continues to enjoy learning new things and is well-rounded. In addition to participating in Cheerleading and Musical Theater, Sydney manages to maintain a 4.0 while taking classes at her high school, as well as college classes at Folsom Lake College. On May 27th, two days before the first OV, Sydney will graduate with honors from Ponderosa High School. In the future, she hopes to attain her Associates Degree at Folsom Lake College and transfer to San Diego State or Pepperdine to study Political Science. Her long term goal is to go to Law School and specialize in employment Law. She would love to go to college near the beach because the beach is where Sydney finds peace.

Sydney also loves to travel with her family and friends, as well as her Grandies to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. Did you know that Sydney and her family own over 100 pairs of Mickey ears? If you ever need to borrow a pair, you sure know who to ask. Sydney’s favorite ride at Disneyland is Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean, which happens to be Emma’s least favorite. Sydney’s favorite thing to do is listen to all genres of music and go on long car rides with friends. On the road, you’ll frequently catch Sydney at Starbucks, which is her favorite place to get a coffee. If you get Sydney an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso, she will love you forever. As we all know Sydney absolutely loves the color pink and what goes best with pink? Sparkles! At her favorite birthday party, she and her friends went ice skating. She wore a pink, sparkly sweater dress and totally did not rip it on the ice. A few words of advice would be to never take Sydney ice skating as she is afraid of falling and getting run over, but definitely take her to San Francisco. Sydney has been to San Francisco over 30 times. In San Francisco, you may catch Sydney and her mom at a San Francisco Giants game, which happens to be their all-time favorite sports team. Her favorite restaurants in San Francisco are the Nordstrom Café and Frascotti. Sydney hopes to someday live in San Francisco full-time because she adores the city’s rich history and the high-energy lifestyle that the city provides.

Sydney is unique in every way possible. She is kind, gentle, determined, silly, ambitious, inspiring, and a best friend to all. Sydney is one of those people that you can’t spend enough time with. She will always make you feel like you have a purpose and will push you to attain your dreams. Sydney hopes for positive growth in our beautiful order. She truly loves Rainbow with her whole heart and cannot wait to see what this year has in store. She is very excited to spend this year raising money for the new Grand Service project, Pawsitive Teams, and making memories with all of the Pioneering Wolf Pack.

Be A Pioneer

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By: Sydney W., Grand Worthy Advisor

When you think of the word, Pioneering, what comes to mind? At first glance, the beginning of the word is what immediately jumps out, and would cause many of us to picture the first groups of people who traveled across America to settle in the frontiers in the 1800s. Many of these pioneers began making the 2,000-mile journey to take advantage of what the United States had to offer. Some went to the frontier in order to prospect for gold, but many were looking for adventure or just the possibility of improving their lives. People left their families and friends, and many knew it would take a long time, if ever, before they saw them again. The trip was a long, hard, and dangerous one. The trail was rocky, raging rivers had to be crossed, and many didn’t make it to their final destination. Those who did make it, laid the foundations of the cities and states that would become the America we know today. 

Personally, the word pioneering doesn’t remind me of frontiers and dangerous treks, but rather of some of the most famous trailblazing female leaders, who “pioneered” the way for many women to follow for years to come. Katherine Meyer Graham was the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, The Washington Post. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, and she was the first aviator to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician whose calculations were critical to the success of NASA’s first U.S. crewed spaceflights, which helped send astronauts to the moon. While the list can go on and on, these women revolutionized the world by challenging the status quo and having the courage to break barriers that stood in their way of success.

The lessons that we learn in Rainbow provide the foundation for us to become “pioneering” leaders. A perfect example of this can be seen in another trailblazing woman, former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, who just so happened to be a Rainbow Girl herself. She was the first woman to be confirmed as a Justice on the Supreme Court, and by breaking through this glass ceiling, she proved to women everywhere that they too could make it into positions of authority and power, even in the Supreme Court of the United States. 

There is so much that we can learn from both the pioneers of the frontier days, and the trailblazing leaders that we continue to be inspired by. First, they know where they’re going, meaning that they’re visionaries and understand what it will take to reach the goal. Good leaders know where they are going, even when others don’t yet see it. They are also willing to take risks, shoulder the burden and take the responsibility for those risks. When they do this, they are able to build a stronger connection with those who follow them. These pioneers also become part of the journey, never asking someone to do something they wouldn’t do first. Pioneers also know the value of “being one with the team”, leading from within rather than from afar. They teach and translate, stay connected to their team, and know them by name. They invest in their people, because they know that the people are the mission. At the end of the day, a business or organization that invests in and maximizes the potential of its people is far more likely to succeed in its mission. Finally, pioneers know that eventually, it becomes time to return to the ranks, and watch as the people they inspired become leaders themselves. They take the risk, teach their people, lead by example and raise up the next generation of pioneers. 

This is what makes them leaders, and it is why we can learn so much about leadership from pioneers. California Rainbow girls, I challenge each of you to be pioneers, to have the courage to break glass ceilings and to blaze a trail for others to someday follow.