When you think of Girl Scouts, you probably think of cookies, while walking up to your local grocery store, seeing a group of young girls selling those colorful packages, picking your favorites, and buying one (or a few). I’m sure you can then imagine yourself eating those delectable Thin Mints, or Peanut Butter Patties, or Caramel Delights, and letting the sweet chocolate dissolve in your mouth while dreaming about your next bite.
Honestly, so do I. But that’s not even half of the story.
Girl Scouts was founded over a hundred years ago, in 1912, in Savannah, GA. Juliette Gordon Low watched Boy Scouts form the year earlier and noticed how they went camping, and hiking, and earned badges for being adventurous and helping their local community. Low realized that girls could do the same thing, despite the taboo of the time which limited how girls were seen in society.
Since the early 1900s, Girl Scouts has become common across the country, with different levels related to the different ages of those in it. I joined in second grade when I was considered a Brownie, and I was involved through high school at the Ambassador level. My troop earned badges through activities, discussions, and day trips to local museums and programs designed for Girl Scouts.
But my favorite memories (aside from selling cookies of course) were those of all the trips we took as a troop. Strangely, I miss waking up early and spending hours in cars just for a scouting trip. We traveled up and down the East Coast, from New York and Connecticut to Virginia and Georgia.
We stayed overnight in the Battleship New Jersey. We had long weekends at Pine Grove Resort in New York, and a day trip to the American Girl Doll store in NYC. We took day trips to Philly for pretty much anything you can think of.
In 2012, we carpooled down to Savannah, Georgia for the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts. We joined hundreds of troops from across the country for what was one of the largest events in Girl Scouting history.
Two years later, we drove to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and experienced what life would have been like in the 17th and 18th centuries as an early American settler. We then went to Busch Gardens and spent a few days in the amusement park.
And how could I forget all the weekend camping trips in cabins in the Poconos and other Girl Scout sites? Rotating who makes meals, having us all make s’mores by the campfire, laughing and telling stories, and of course, playing our favorite card game – Spoons. I don’t remember whose idea that was, but it became our camping staple; as we were packing all the cars with our stuff, one (or more) of us would always yell, “WHO HAS THE CARDS AND BAG OF SPOONS?” Sure enough that weekend, spoons went flying across the cabin, hands were scratched, and nails were broken (and the occasional splinter was embedded in an unlucky finger).
While Girl Scouts officially ends after senior year of high school, the memories I have will always live on. I have found that I haven’t traveled much in college, except for going abroad twice. I do miss the experiences I have from my Girl Scout trips throughout middle school and high school, and I’m glad I was part of it.
