A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I drove past some Girl Scouts packing up their cookie booth as we returned to campus. The second we passed them, I knew that we had to park and go back, and I knew for sure what I wanted. The girls saw us coming immediately and began jumping up and down, and their energy was so infectious that I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as we ordered. Seeing them made me sentimental, not just because they still had my favorite flavor — Thin Mints — but because about five years ago I was in their position.
Girls Scouts of the USA is a national youth organization for young girls, and I was a member for nine years, from kindergarten to eighth grade. The main point of Girl Scouts is learning specific things to earn patches that go on your vests. All of my vests are covered in patches, and sometimes, I even had to buy a second sash for everything to fit. But that’s not what I remember the most. What stuck with me are all the activities I did with my troop. It feels like I did it all. I learned how to pitch and take down a tent, how to shoot a bow and arrow and how to tie my shoes. My troop went to Disneyland, Six Flags and so many other places with the money we earned from cookie sales. My love of hiking was born from all the camping trips we took — I will never forget camping at Joshua Tree and roasting marshmallows under the stars.
And of course, I sold cookies. Every year, without fail, we would drive to my troop leader’s house to pick up our order and leave with a trunkload of brand-new boxes. They filled my living room until there was barely any space to walk, and as the season went on, the pile would gradually decrease until we placed another order for more. When I was younger, my mom did most of the work, but as I got older, the responsibility fell to me. I was my own marketer, saleswoman and bookkeeper. Rain or shine, I worked the booths, and I mastered the art of smiling even though my feet hurt from standing for hours and all I wanted to do was go home. I can still remember the rush that came from having people approach us and pull out their wallets. It was magical in a way that’s hard to describe. Each sale was another step forward to my end-of-season goals, which I earned through my own hard work. In the moment, it could be stressful and demanding, but when it all ends, you’re left in the glow of your accomplishments and want to do it all over again.
So when I saw those girls selling weeks ago, nostalgia hit me like a truck. Even now, saying that I was in the organization for nearly a decade of my life is strange because it feels like so long ago. I entered as a little girl and left as a young woman. There’s really no way of measuring the impact my experience had on who I grew to be, and I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t picked up and left five years ago.
Aside from all of the fun things, I learned a lot about leadership, responsibility and independence, and I was fortunate to have a troop leader that pushed me out of my comfort zone in a good way. But I regret all the things I didn’t do. What if I continued into high school? You don’t need a troop to continue to participate, and I could have gotten my bronze, silver and gold awards, which involve researching an issue and then working on a project to benefit your community. What if I had stayed in contact with the girls in my troop? I always felt so much older than them even though it was just one or two years, but they brought out a sillier side of me. I would love to think that if I did stay around, we would all still be friends. I wouldn’t change my high school experience for anything, but I wonder if I missed out by not trying to combine my old and new worlds.
I can’t really tell if it was as amazing as I remember it to be, or if my nostalgia is deceiving me. Nevertheless, Girl Scouts facilitated a lot of my personal growth throughout elementary and middle school. I have always been quiet and more reserved, but my experience taught me that this didn’t mean I wasn’t confident. Through my work, I learned that I could be a self-reliant and capable leader. Reflecting on my time as a Girl Scout makes me sentimental but also deeply grateful, for it taught me to realize my own independence. And Girl Scout cookies will always remind me of that capable, determined, independent little girl wearing her feet out in the rain.
Contact Wura Ogunnaike at ogunnaike@oxy.edu
