My Ten Year Pin

"Scouting rises within you and inspires you to put forth your best"...(Juliette G. Low). I received an e-mail today asking if anyone had an inspiring story to tell about a girl who had benefited from the experience of being a Girl Scout, who may not have been able to have those opportunities if it were not for scouting. I went to delete it until a wave of emotion went through me, reminding me of a very inspiring Girl Scout story. The main character in the story is me. I started Girl Scouts in the 1st grade as a Brownie. I went up through the ranks for the next seven years, becoming a Junior and Cadette Scout, ending my Girl Scout years in the 8th grade. Those seven years as a Girl scout were significant and scouting played a very positive role in my life. Coming from a home where my mom had been divorced twice and was a single mother raising three girls on her own, I felt pretty lost and alone most of the time. My mom was either working or gone and my father was literally out of the country and out of my life during those seven years. I remember incredible loneliness, poverty and doing a lot of things by myself, even finding a way to get to the meetings on my own. Being a Girl Scout was a saving grace for me. Those weekly meetings gave me a sense of belonging and sisterhood. I needed the guidance that scouting offered and learned so much about myself throughout those seven years. I was taught to value myself through scouting and to find my own unique capabilities that I could contribute to the troop. To earn patches, I learned about cultural diversity when my troop was taught cooking and dancing traditions from other countries. We went on numerous camp outs, picnics and field trips to skating rinks, hikes and movies. My mom could not afford to send me to summer camp, so thanks to very generous people who donated money to the Girl Scouts, I was able to attend a Girl Scout summer camp on Catalina Island on a scholarship. I learned so much during those years as a Girl Scout, things that I would never have had the chance to experience if it were not for Girl Scouting. Scouting also taught me the value of leadership, working together and of helping others, since community service was a big part of my scouting years. Those years impacted me so greatly that when my daughter started school, I wanted to give back to the Girl Scouts by becoming a leader and starting a troop. I am now completing my third year as a Girl Scout leader and am proud to say that I have earned my 10 year pin, for having been a part of the Girl Scouts for 10 years combined with scouting and leadership. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to the Girl Scout organization, the leaders who volunteered their time and to the numerous other volunteers who made scouting possible for me. Girl Scouting made a huge impact in my life. There are many little girls out there just like me, who continue to benefit greatly by being a part of the Girl Scouts. "My purpose... to go on with my heart and soul, devoting all my energies to Girl Scouts, and heart and hand with them, we will make our lives and the lives of the future girls happy, healthy and holy"...(Juliette G. Low, founder of the Girl Scouts).