110 years of making history

The 110th anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of America will be marked March 12.

A meeting in 1911 between Juliette Gordon Low and Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts lead to Gordon Low being inspired into establishing the Girl Scouts the following year.

Juliette Gordon Low, also known by her nickname, “Daisy”, started Girl Scouts in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia.

The first troop was made up of 18 girls who all shared a sense of curiosity and a belief that they could do anything.

That small gathering of girls over 100 years ago ignited a movement across America where every girl could unlock their fun potential, find lifelong friends and make the world a better place.

At a time when women were not allowed to vote and were expected to stick to the status quo, encouraging young girls to embrace their unique strengths and create their own opportunities was game-changing.

Everything a Girl Scout does builds their curiosity, kindness and can-do spirit.

Whether they’re earning badges, selling cookies, hiking trails and camping, helping their community and building friendships, they’re always having fun.

When a scout is navigating a rocky trail, she’s learning to problem solve and take the time to look at the world around her.

Standing at a booth selling a box of cookies, they’re gaining confidence, people-skills and money management.

The troop members around her, swapping stories and doing activities together, will become her support system that will boost her up and help her cope with peer pressure or tough times in school.

From troop life to bonds formed at camp, Girl Scouts have many opportunities to make new friends and get to know their community.

Whether they’re welcoming a new girl to their troop, meeting with local leaders through a service project, or traveling through Girl Scout Destinations, these scouts are expanding their networks, growing their social skills and gaining new perspectives.

Pushing the limits and letting their inner explorers run free, Girl Scouts are exploring local parks or trekking through the woods, field trips to museums, or getting on a plane to explore a different culture overseas.

This anniversary approaching makes me remember my own time as a Girl Scout.

My best memory is taking a trip to Turner Falls, Oklahoma with my troop.

We rented a cabin and went exploring, hiking up a trail until we found a cave. Hiking the trail was a challenge following the trail and avoiding roots that tried to trip us.

I couldn’t resist exploring it with my friends.

After sliding through the narrow gap, the cave opened up, with high ceilings and rust colored rock walls surrounding us like a cathedral.

Later that day we went swimming and my friend Kiana slipped while climbing over a waterfall, bruising her leg pretty badly. We all helped her out of the water and found that it was the perfect time to put our first aid skills to the test.

In the evenings, we did crafts, sewing purses out of bandanas, making lipgloss out of Kool-aid and vaseline, painting picture frames for the photos we took on the trip and watching old movies, like Grease, our favorite.

I still remember the Girl Scout Law and do my best to follow it even now.

“I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect my self and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place and be a sister to every Girl Scout.”

Another rule my Girl Scout leader, Momma Dana, taught us was to leave a place better than we found it, either by cleaning or brightening the lives of the people there.

If we went camping, we made sure to take all of our trash with us, we treated everyone with kindness, and always encouraged others to do their best.

Sadly my Girl Scout leader passed away last year. She was a dear friend of my family and one of my mom’s best friends. She always treated each girl in our troop like one of her daughters and we were always welcome at Momma D’s.

I will never forget the skills she taught me and the love she showed me.