It isn’t every day that girls share with us how much they appreciate what they received through Girl Scouting – and often that doesn’t happen until they become adults. I’d like to share with you a message I recently received from one of our volunteers who grew up in our area…………….I believe she speaks for many girls and hope you enjoy her testament to Girl Scouting.

I simply wanted to thank all those who made my Girl Scouting years possible.  I know that that is a very generalized statement, but I don’t want to leave anyone out. So I am just going to thank everyone.  I have had such a wonderful time as a girl in Scouting.  I was given the opportunity on many occasions to meet so many wonderful people, and I have been given so many chances to do things that I would not have been able to do if it weren’t for Scouting.
 
I became a leader, and not just a troop leader, but also a leader in all aspects of my life.  I have always had the confidence to take charge of the many events throughout my jobs and my life.  I would have never had that courage had it not been for my Girl Scouting experience.  I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to voice my own opinion, and Girl Scouts even taught me how to express how I felt, how to speak with adults, and how to gain their respect as well as the respect of my peers.
 
I have read your blogs, the guest blogs, and all the replies, every chance I have gotten, and it makes me so incredibly happy to hear that there are many other girls who are as lucky as I was and who are able to experience Girl Scouts the way that I did. I always had so much fun and I learned so much.  My mother was my leader from the age of seven, until I graduated High School.  She always had an event for us to plan, or a workshop to attend.  She also had us earning patches without us even knowing that we were working on them.  Not only was she my mother and my leader, but she was also a role model and a second mother to every girl who ever joined our troop.  She is a big reason why so many of us have continued in Scouting and why we are Lifetime Members.
 
I love being a part of Girl Scouts, more so now, than I ever realized as I was growing up.  There were many times I wanted to quit.  Not because I thought it was “uncool,” but because those around me always pushed me so hard, and I always pushed myself to try and achieve so much. They truly did it out of love, and the fact that they knew my potential. And it was not always as easy as everyone thinks it is. But, I continued and now as a National Council Delegate, I am so proud to be representing such an amazing organization.  I truly believe that Girl Scouts changed my life, and that I would not be who I am or where I am today had it not been for everyone in Scouting who helped open so many doors for me.
 
When I was in high school, I wore a Girl Scout shirt to school everyday, and I was not ashamed or embarrassed, because Girl Scouts taught me to be proud of who I was.  Kids in school would joke, until I told them what Girl Scouts meant to me, and the things that I achieved in Scouting. They couldn’t believe some of the things I was able to do.
 
I have considered for sometime now, what this has meant to me, and I think that I have finally come up with an explanation:
 
To me, Girl Scouts is not just about selling cookies or earning patches. To me those are stepping-stones to a brighter future.  To me, Girl Scouts is about exploring life.  It’s about learning to get along and to understand. It’s about being yourself and never being afraid of standing up for what you believe in.  It’s about believing in yourself and being passionate about the things you believe in.  It’s about the feeling that you get as an older girl the first time you realize that all the younger girls look up to you.  It’s about the emotions you experience every time you see someone wearing a shirt from an event that you planned.  It’s about sharing your knowledge and giving a helping hand.  It’s about the feeling you get when you perform a flag ceremony.  It’s about being proud of your country.  It’s about finding yourself.  To me, Girl Scouts is not just an organization; it’s about my life, and my daughter’s future.
 
In times of need, people turn to all kinds of places, good and bad, to look for support or answers.
 
I, turn to Girl Scouts, to my own world where life makes sense and the meaning of life is as simple as this:
 
On my Honor,
I will try,
To serve God,
And my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
 
So in conclusion, again, I simply want to thank each and every single person who ever made or who makes Girl Scouts possible. And thank you to everyone who will continue tradition for the future.  If anyone ever feels like they are hitting a dead-end or are overwhelmed by everything they do for scouting, if they ever question why they do what they do, I say: “Fear not!”  Because anyone who volunteers or works for Girl Scouts, no matter the length of time or the intensity of your work, you have made a difference.  We all are the difference.  For almost one hundred years we have been making an impact.
 
So here is to one hundred more!!
 
Sincerely,
Thank you,
Kelly Hatheway

Thanks Kelly for sharing your thoughts with all of us.