Safe Spaces
By GSCCC Volunteer Elizabeth Vaughn
Girl Scouts was always a safe space for me growing up. Safe spaces for girls are getting harder and harder to find and it’s something that as a mom of a Daisy, I am determined to find for my daughter. The world is scary and it’s full of expectations and pressures that can cause women of any age to shrink themselves, mentally and physically, into something that’s not authentically who they are. I want my daughter to get the opportunity to figure out who she is and how she’s going to contribute to the world, in an environment that lets her learn and grow and fail and succeed. That’s why we’re participating in Girl Scouts.
I decided early on that I wanted to help create this opportunity for my daughter and for other girls so I volunteered to be a troop leader (volunteering and leading—something I learned in Girl Scouts!) Preparing to be a new troop leader is no joke. There’s a lot to learn and I feel a ton of pressure to get it “right.” I want these girls to have the great experience that I had, to build those lifelong friendships and to make a difference in their community. In thinking about how I might accomplish these monumental tasks, I was reminded of what I loved so much about my troop leaders. They truly let our experience be whatever we as Girl Scouts wanted it to be. They exposed us to new opportunities and challenged us to try new things but at the end of the day, it was our choice. And that’s the cool thing about Girl Scouts. It is what you make of it and it’s designed to be girl-led. So I’m aiming to be the kind of troop leader that I had some 20+ years ago by providing a safe space for girls to be whoever they are at the moment and to try new things, without fear of having to be perfect at any of it.
When I was a Girl Scout, I was never the top cookie seller and I still vividly remember that rock wall that I could not get to the top of. But that never made me feel like I didn’t belong or that I had failed because there was always a place for me and my talents. At the end of the day, after that unsuccessful moment with the rock wall, I still sat around the campfire with my best friends and a smile on my face. There was no talk about who made it to the top and who didn’t because that was never the point. We just celebrated being together.
I’m excited to see what my daughter makes of this organization since the experience really can be different for each girl. Will she be the outspoken leader or the quiet support? The adventure seeker on the rock wall or the reserved caretaker coordinating a food drive? I feel comfortable knowing that it will be her choice and that all I have to do is provide that safe space through Girl Scouts so these little Daisies can grow.
Elizabeth Vaughn, an active Girl Scout alum and volunteer, is the Deputy Director of the Public Communications Department in the City of Chesapeake.
