Natalie King
  Publisher

Throughout childhood, many of us progressed through a plethora of character-building activities. Until this past Wednesday’s E-Board meeting, an activity that had slipped my mind, was the ever-popular, Girl Scouts. How could I forget? I advanced from being a “Brownie” to a “Junior” with such pride.

My favorite aspect of being a Girl Scout  were the various badges you could earn once you had completed a certain activity. Camping, cooking, helping a friend, and volunteering are just a few examples. It was as if you became an instant expert in the field after your mom perfected the position of the iron-on patch that you could now wear to every meeting with glory. Don’t we all wish life had continued with this tradition? You mean after I complete one college class I am not successful Alum? And after I make one friend I am not a bubbly social butterfly? Well shit.

Not to say that Girl Scouts didn’t teach me anything useful, but looking back, there were definitely some cases of unrealistic expectations. The annual camping trip was a blast. Our parents and tribe leaders brought everything we could possibly need, and there was an indoor bathroom within walking distance. How was my camping trip last year you ask? Well, my mom did not pack me snacks and peeing in the woods gets really difficult after that one roll of toilet paper you brought runs out.

Girl Scouts did teach me some pristine salesmanship skills. Selling thin mints was my niche. It was so easy to persuade people to doing what you want them to at age seven. Now that the cuteness has worn off, a lot more effort needs to go into any act of coaxing. Although, I do find it rather easy to nicely reject those little girls on the corner selling cookies; it only gets tougher out there, ladies, I’m just helping you prepare.

Of course, we cannot forget the good ol’ boy scouts. Let’s be honest, boy scouts was so much cooler. I mean, boys go on to become Eagle Scouts and have real life experience with “scouty” type things. It’s nice that they tried to make a gender equal counterpart for girls to enjoy, but it’s going to take a little more work to convince ladies to continue on in their growth and become a recipient of the Girl Scout’s “Gold Award”.