I was scrolling through TikTok (as one does) when I unfortunately came across a rather mean opinion. That opinion was from a video in which someone, dissatisfied with their Girl Scout experience, complained that Girl Scouts is just useless arts and crafts while Boy Scouts is superior as it teaches more practical skills like camping. To the poster of that video, I am so profoundly sorry that your Girl Scout experience didn’t live up to your expectations.
The way Girl Scouts is structured as an organization is very decentralized, meaning that while there are structured badges, lessons, camps, and community service projects, these activities are all largely up to the discretion of the troop leadership. How much or how little a given Girl Scout troop does entirely depends on what its leaders are interested in. If the leaders have more experience with crafty things (as the TikTok poster’s leaders seemed to), that will be reflected in the activities their troop does. However, this does not mean that Girl Scouts is useless or that Boy Scouts is “better.”
In my Girl Scout troop, I learned sewing, painting, baking, and crafting skills. But I also learned horseback riding, archery, how to start a fire, other camping skills, budgeting, sales, and principles that still guide my life to this day. I traveled and saw places vastly different from my home. I did projects intended to serve my community; I even earned my Bronze Award and Silver Award (which are Girl Scout awards given for impactful community service projects). I went to at least one, but usually more, Girl Scout camp every summer from first grade through high school, and there I learned more of the aforementioned life skills and made connections with other girls from all walks of life. In my troop, I was mentored by girls older than me and, in turn, mentored girls younger than me; I have incredible friendships and connections thanks to the people I met through Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law are words I learned by heart, and their message shapes to this day the way I choose to live my life to this day. Girl Scouts gave me incredible opportunities, the same way it does for every girl enrolled in it.
Girl Scouts was such an impactful experience for me that I now volunteer with a local troop. Crete Girl Scout Troop #20770 is a troop ranging from Daisies (kindergarteners and 1st graders) to Ambassadors (high school juniors and seniors). I help teach these girls the same lessons I once learned, lessons such as caring for others and their community, how to budget money and make sales, and, yes, how to do crafts and make art. Girl Scouts helps girls discover the things they’re interested in and learn about the world around them. It builds confidence and life skills from a very young age, and I can say for certain I wouldn’t be half as involved, self-assured, or as much of a leader as I am if I hadn’t been a Girl Scout. Girl Scouts gives girls a safe place to grow, learn, and be themselves, and for that reason it is an utterly priceless organization.
