Scouting is...

Girl Scouts is something that has been a big part of my life ever since I was a small child and will continue to be with me until the day I die. Some of my favorite memories in my life have a direct link to Scouting. To me, scouting is so many different things and has had such an impact on my life.

Scouting is...

FRIENDSHIP:

I have had the chance to travel to some really cool places and have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people along the way. In all of this, I have found that Scouting is an invisible yet bold bond that links you to people that you've never met. The minute Scouting comes into the conversation, there is an instant connection and spark of friendship. I have become penpals with Scouts overseas who have taught me bits and pieces of their cultures. I am positive that the girls that I have met in Scouting over the years will be my friends until the end. They will be the girls that continue to encourage and support me. They may also be some of the girls that stand up in my wedding one day.

ADVENTURE:
My Scout friends and I have gone on some pretty great adventures over the years. For example, staying in a youth hostel in Madison, Wisconsin. Or that time when we got to learn how to fly private airplanes (and the fact that the pilot actually let us be in control of the steering controls. Eek). And that one time in high school that we created and led this huge scavenger hunt in the mall for younger girls, all while wearing crazy colored tutus. Or the summers that I've spent in Nebraska at a business-leadership camp for high school girls.

LEADERSHIP:

Girl Scouts and Girl Guides aim to build girls up to be confident leaders. My leadership skills have been shaped and enhanced as a result of doing my Gold Award project. It was with this project that I really learned how to plan, delegate, and follow through with a plan to help meet a need in my community. I also learned good leadership skills when I was a camp counselor at summer camp. I have learned how to speak up for myself and how to encourage others to do the same too.

TRAVEL: 

It's crazy to imagine that there are Girl Scouts literally ALL over the world. They are in countries that you've heard of and in those that you couldn't locate on the map. If it wasn't for Scouting, I wouldn't have had the chance to live in Kansas City, Missouri for two summers while serving as a camp counselor. It was through Scouts that I was able to be a chaperone for a group of high school girls and to be able to take them to an International Youth Conference in Chicago as well as the National Girl Scout Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is because of this amazing organization that I am going to India this summer to serve in local communities while soaking in the culture. 

We as Girl Scouts are more than just those yummy cookies that you get once a year. We are an organization that is looking to make an impact on the world by empowering and encouraging girls to be the best that they can be. We are teaching girls to have the courage, character and confidence to be who they want to be and not to conform to society's standard of 'normal' or 'beautiful'.

So on this "World Thinking Day" I am here to express my gratitude and appreciation for this amazing global movement. I am thankful for the change it has made in my life, the people it's connected me with, and the lasting impact it has and will have on my sisters worldwide. I am thankful that my wonderful mom stepped up to be my Girl Scout leader so many years ago and stuck with it until our troop graduated from high school. It's on days like these that I can't imagine the kind of woman I would be today if Girl Scouts was not such an important part of my life.