I Loved Being A Girl Scout
And So Will You!
I did not become a Girl Scout until the 5th grade, and even then I was skeptical. I did not understand what Girl Scouts was, or why I would want to become one. My mom made me join, mostly to make friends, but I ended up loving it and am now working to earn my Gold Award (the highest Girl Scout Achievement).
Girl Scouts is not just earning badges and selling cookies (although both are fun perks).
In fact, most of the badge-earning is done when you are younger. Since I did not join until 5th grade, I never intentionally earned badges. Once you are an older scout, the focus becomes earning Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. For those unfamiliar, these are essentially service projects planned and executed with your patrol (other girls your age). Which requires collaboration. Girl Scouts also taught me responsibility and leadership skills.
To earn a Bronze Award, two girls in my patrol and I hosted an afterschool book drive for the STAIR (Start The Adventure In Reading) Program. It was super simple and lots of fun! For the Silver Award, my friends and I made letterboxes for a new park in our community to help encourage visitors. Currently, I am working on earning a Gold Award, which I have to plan and execute mostly alone.
All of this may sound like a lot of work for little reward –
However, I am so happy my mom made me join Girl Scouts. I was able to participate in a lot more than community service. For example, we created a presentation to teach children about Christmas traditions in other countries. We also made and served dinner to the homeless, and had multiple movie nights where we just made cookies, watched movies, and talked! The friendships I made in Girl Scouts will last my entire life. I mean, we go on small vacations together every year!
I want to encourage all girls to join – even if you think you are too old. The projects and experiences are unique to being a Girl Scout, and a Gold Award achievement looks great on college applications. It also helps with scholarships!
To sum it up, Girl Scouts is an awesome organization to be a part of. Not once have I regretted joining.
