Picture this: March 12, 1912, in Savannah, GA, a group of 18 young girls come together and come up with an idea so ahead of their time yet so fitting for the world around them. An idea that allowed for alliance, strength, support, and an ecocentric attitude that would come to change society for decades to come. The leader of this group was Juliette Gordon Lowe, and her idea formed an organization that has come to be known as Girl Scouts.
Blonde hair, clear skin, tight clothes, blushed cheeks are only some of the stereotypes that young girls are thrown into at a young age. How does society teach these young girls that beauty is confidence, individuality, and the strength to pursue something big? Juliette Gordon Lowe’s mission was to do just that, and she had hopes of teaching females to be the next leaders of America. Her mission is powerful and has set off a ripple in the female world, especially my own.
I was an ambitious eight-year-old, and whenever my mother asked me if I wanted to join Girl Scouts, I heard the word “cookies” and said yes without any hesitation. From the start, I was taught to earn what was given to me through the patches from projects I completed. We worked towards individuality every meeting, did activities where we planted community gardens, calculated math problems, sang at nursing homes, and were taught how to take care of ourselves. It was the first time in my life where I was put into an environment that fostered education and self-care. As girls in the organization grew older, they passed through different levels by crossing a bridge and getting a new sash. The bridge I had was a foot-long wooden arch at my tiny middle school. However, it always felt like I was walking to my coronation day. At eight years old, I was envisioning myself be a woman who never settled for anything less than ordinary, and in a way, I went on to earn that crown when I crossed over my kind of bridge.
Fast forward exactly 108 years after the founding of Girl Scouts, March 12, 2020, also known as the day the world paused. COVID-19 was circulating, people quarantined, and every human faced a different obstacle. Mine was my college decision, and the two factors were regular university or art school. All of those lessons that were instilled in me from years prior were put to the test. The Girl Scout Law circled in my head, “I will do my best, to be honest, and fair, respect myself, make the world a better place…” and so on. I pictured that 8-year-old girl again and thought about what patch she was most excited about, all during a time where people did not tell her that she had to be “realistic.” I pulled out the sash from under my bed and saw the glossy, colorful stitching on the patch staring back at me. The paintbrush emblem was big and ironed on the right in the middle, and I knew.
So now, picture this: that same eight-year-old girl, visiting Savannah, GA, the birthplace of Girl Scouts, and seeing a college girl at SCAD living out her dream. With sash secured tightly, she knew what she was going to work towards, and I think that girl would be proud of who she went on to become.
Confidence is beauty, and Girl Scouts instill that in every female they take in, teaching them to break those stereotypes. With my life coming full circle, I can say that I would not have been able to do it without this organization and the cookies, obviously.
Words by Brooke Sturgis.
Graphics by Emily Monet.
Photo by Mackenzie Dillon.