Most women can count the number of years they were a Girl Scout on one hand. I, however, have to take off one of my shoes. I joined the Brownies when I was in the first grade and didn’t leave scouting until I graduated high school. Why did I stay with the Girl Scouts for so long?
The answer is simple: I was having so much fun that I didn’t even realize that I had spent twelve years with the same organization. Everyone has the view that scouting is all about camping and learning to cook, but I found that the Girl Scouts grew with me, and began to cater to my interests as I grew older. I was even able to serve my community in ways that few could imagine at that age.
I earned both my Silver and Gold Awards while I was in high school. For each award I had to create a service project and execute it for 30 and 50 hours, respectively, along with meeting other goals and deadlines. With three other young women, we created a computer class for senior citizens for the our Silver Award, and visited nursing homes with therapy dogs for our Gold Awards.
The amount of dedication and effort required to implement our projects was immense, and it has made me into someone who doesn’t quit; who knows that you have to put in great amounts of sweat and tears to truly succeed. This is why I love roller derby. It’s my project 3.0. I know that if I could accomplish that much as a young woman in high school, I can become a great derby player with patience, determination, and discipline. That is what Girl Scouts taught me.