When I became a Girl Scout Brownie, I was about six or seven and lived in small, rural community in Western New York. I had no idea at the time that I would be making friends that I have kept in touch with for over 30 years and that I’d become the leader of my own daughter’s Girl Scout troop 33 years later.
In this fast paced, technology driven, social media age we now live in, it has become difficult for adults and kids to form the kind of bonds of lifelong friendship that seemed so easy to do back when I was a six year old Brownie in pig tails and a sash back in my hometown circa 1986-1987.
Starting simple conversations and forming connections without being behind a keyboard or some kind of device has become awkward for a lot of people. This has given way to the premise that young girls and young people today are just another part of the “me” generation and only want to be known best for their individual achievements shared on social media platforms rather than developing leadership skills as members of a larger group.
Becoming reacquainted with Girl Scouts as the leader of my daughter’s troop has given my daughter, my scouts and me a chance to change that narrative. I realized that now I have the chance to show the community we live in and maybe even the world that young girls, in particular, are so much more than superficial kids who have no permanent fixture in society who would rather be reduced to a sound bite, tweet, like or share.
With...
Association I: September 25, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.
