Ever since seventh grade, I’ve hesitated to mention that, in addition to playing the cello in the school orchestra and being a witness on my school’s mock trial team, I’m a Girl Scout. Is that because I find Girl Scouts embarrassing? Not particularly. Is it because I don’t like Girl Scouts? Considering I’ve been a part of the organization since I was 4 years old (a year earlier than most girls) I think not. Is it because Girl Scouts are not as well known as Boy Scouts? It may be a contributing factor. Or is it because, as girls get older, they are expected to be more interested in doing their hair and makeup and gossiping than in things like leadership, female empowerment and community service? Now that’s probable.
When most people think about what being a Girl Scout means, they have difficulty looking past our famous cookies, overeager tiger-mom leaders, “rugged” camping trips and the very large population of lower-elementary school participants. Although I’ve experienced or been a part of all of those aspects of Girl Scouts, they are not my favorite parts of being a Girl Scout.
Girl Scouts take amazing trips to places like Hawaii, Scotland, Japan and the Patagonia in Argentina. I’ve had the opportunity to lead younger troops through badges and service unit-wide events, and this mentoring has taught me not only how to work well with others, but also to lead a group of small children in a way that is engaging and fun. Through Girl Scouts, I was able to spend a month working in a Girl Scout camp kitchen, which taught me both how to work in an industrial kitchen as well as how to cope with sometimes irritating colleagues and disrespectful children.
For my troop of eight girls from three Atlanta high schools, community service is major part of what we do. In the last four years alone, I’ve cooked breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House and Cafe 458, run a clothing drive for the Atlanta Women and Children’s Shelter and packaged children’s Christmas packages at various shelters. One of the major components of being a Girl Scout is the completion of three major community service projects: the Bronze Award, for juniors (fourth-graders through sixth-graders), the Silver Award, for cadettes (or seventh- graders and eighth-graders), and the Gold Award, for ambassadors (11th and 12th graders). I personally have completed both my Bronze and Silver Awards, and I am working on my Gold Award. My project involves creating an audio library for the Atlanta Children’s Shelter to help enhance early childhood literacy in low-income and homeless children.
My favorite part of Girl Scouts, however, is that I have experienced all of these things with some of my closest friends. The girls that I have befriended in Girl Scouts are compassionate, volunteer-oriented, self-motivated and fun girls. We naturally bond because of our shared values. The girls that are in my troop are, first and foremost, my friends: we have troop sleepovers (that are not just at Girl Scout camps), we gossip about school during meetings, and we support each other in our endeavors outside of Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts may seem like kids’ stuff to those who don’t know any better. But for me and the Girl Scouts that I count among my closest friends, being a Scout is a profoundly rewarding, humbling and enjoyable experience. So much of what I value and who I am comes from Girl Scouts, and it hurts me to think that people don’t appreciate that. Yes, we’ll still sell you cookies, but we do so much more than that.
