Girl Scout

By Tara Henson-Cameron

And Girl Scouting is not just knowing... but doing... not just doing, but being.

~Juliette G. Low

I can remember walking at least twenty blocks to those Brownie Girl Scout meetings every week. It was probably closer to five or six blocks, but I was only seven or eight years old, so it seemed farther.

I went faithfully every week... even though I was the only girl there who didn't have a vest or pretty uniform to wear. Even though I was the only girl there whose parents didn't drop her off, pick her up, or get involved in the troop in any way. Even though I never got to attend any of the outings, camps, or even sell cookies. Even though I didn't know my troop number or what that even was.

All I knew was that once a week I went to a place where everyone was nice to me. And even though I didn't know all their names, I knew that once a week I had lots of friends, at least for one night, because they said they were at the end of every meeting in our friendship circle. Someone always held my hand in the circle, and no one cared that I didn't have on a pretty uniform... they didn't care if my clothes weren't nice... if my hair was brushed... or that my parents never even paid my dues for that matter. What were dues anyway? I didn't know.

I don't remember the crafts we made or the projects we worked on. I don't remember family nights or my troop leader's name. I can only remember the feeling of belonging. I can only remember that for one night a week I wasn't the poor girl with tattered clothes. I wasn't the loner daydreaming in class while everyone laughed because I didn't hear the teacher call my name. I wasn't the girl with tangled hair that no one combed. I wasn't at home listening to the screaming or the sound of his fist when it collided with her skin.

I was safe, and I was with people who didn't mind me being there, even though I never registered or never contributed to the troop in any way. I wasn't in the way, and I was welcome just as I was. I was someone. I was significant enough to be someone's friend and that made all the difference to me... at least once a week.

So today, at twenty-seven, I am a proud, registered Girl Scout in troop 198. I still don't wear a vest or pretty uniform. But my pretty little girl gets the skirt, shirt, vest, hat, and even the hoodie. She (with my help) sold just over 500 boxes of cookies this year. She earned enough "cookie dough" to pay her way to camp this summer. I told her that her cookie dough points could be used to buy anything she wanted in the Girl Scout shop or to go camping. Without hesitation, she decided she wanted to go camping. And while I was telling her the options on which camps she could go to, she decided, without hesitation, that she'd be going to the "Mommy and me" camp this year with her mommy.

My little girl loves being a Girl Scout. She may take for granted the pretty uniform she wears and even the fact that she's a registered scout whose Mommy makes sure it's done right. But I know that she's learning the things that matter most. She's learning what accepting others for who they are is all about. She's learning that beauty is what's inside someone's heart and not in their size, shape, status, clothes, or color of their skin. She's learning to love through acts of service to her community and those around here. She's learning that hard work pays off. She's learning about integrity and building good character. She will grow up and forget all those crafts and projects even though they are the building blocks that make the picture whole. But she will never forget the good character that was instilled in her. And she will always remember it when it's time to apply those tools to her life and helping others. I know because I was a Girl Scout too.

http://www.chickensoup.com