Editor’s note: Girl Scout Week begins Sunday, March 12, 2017. In honor of the impact Girl Scouting made on her life, Lindsey Joens wrote this essay. She is Communications Coordinator at Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, at the Bettendorf, IA, Council office.
I was never a Girl Scout.
I remember my mother distinctly asking me when I was six if I wanted to be a Brownie. I didn’t know what a Brownie was, but I knew I liked green and purple more than brown, so I said no. Then I found out a neighborhood girl was a Girl Scout Brownie. She had the prettiest hair and all the coolest toys, so I must have been missing out. I decided I [had] better figure out what this Brownie business was before I say anything to my mom. I mean, I can’t just admit that I was wrong–I’m six, and I know everything. The next time the girl invited me over to play, I asked her what she did in Girl Scouts. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “meetings and stuff.” I pressed her for more information, but she just grew super-irritated, so I rode my bike home.
However, since working here, I came to realize there was a precursor to all that, wherein I attended a program at the library. I just hadn’t connected it at the time. It was themed as a painting party, and I sat among a bunch of girls I had never met. I was shy, and the time was short, so I didn’t make any new friends. But the lady teaching us was very nice. She gave each table some watercolors and a salt-shaker to share. She told us that you could sprinkle salt on your watercolor paintings, and it would look really cool! The arts were a thing in my family….I thought for sure this class wouldn’t teach me anything, but I was entranced with discovering this new thing.
For months (maybe even years) following, my parents kept telling me I didn’t have to put salt on all my art but….I carried that with me for years. And in college I didn’t know what I wanted to be, so I took an art class to have a full course load while I figured it out. I dumped sand in my paint; used Mountain Dew as a binder and acrylic paint as glue; constructed cardboard and drywall into a unicorn. I’m pretty sure I also used salt at some point, too. My mentor pulled me from class one day and told me I was different–and even admirable–because of my unabashed approach.
And, now here I am with a degree in visual communications, rounding out 12 years in the field, and painting stupid cats.
So, no, I was never a Girl Scout, but I do have reason to believe I went to a recruitment event of some sort. That event was a defining time for me, not only to take risks and try new things, but also help me build my career.
It’s true. You never know the moment in time you can change a girl’s life.