I Refused to Be Told “No”

Amelia Giese (she/her)

Editorial Team Member

When I was in third grade, a man came to my school during lunch. He was dressed in a beige shirt and army-green cargo shorts. He spoke about an organization called “Cub Scouts,” where kids could learn about the world around them, explore, and learn outdoor skills. When he finished his talk, I was enthralled. That sounded exactly like something I wanted to do. He passed out pamphlets and I tried to take one, but he wouldn’t let me, for the sole reason that I was a girl. You see, Cub Scouts was a part of the Boy Scouts of America. And I was not a boy, so joining wasn’t an option.

            I was one of those little girls who absolutely would not take “no” for an answer when I had my heart set on something. I also was a firm believer in the fact that girls could do anything boys could do. So as you can imagine, I was rather confused and hurt at not being allowed to join.

            I was, however, a rather devious kid. I came up with a sneaky plan during recess to weasel my way into the organization. That afternoon, I marched on home and made my little brother join so I could do it through him.

            And it worked! For about three years, I had the time of my life going to his meetings with him, going on field trips, and going on campouts. We toured the local fire station, went on hikes, and got to spend the night in a real World War Two submarine and a zoo. It was really fun. I even made and led my own Cub Scout group (or “den”) of siblings, and we did our own activities and skits.

            You might be thinking, “Hey, Amelia, why don’t you join Girl Scouts?” And, at the time, I wanted to. I tried. But there wasn’t a Girl Scout troop in my area. Plus, I was way more into the survival skills and outdoorsy aspects of Boy Scouts. Don’t get me wrong, Girl Scouts is an incredible and important organization. They have raised generations of strong leaders, community members, and entrepreneurs, but that wasn’t what I was interested in.

            I lost interest in Cub Scouts eventually. Hanging out with fourth-grade boys and their younger sisters wasn’t exactly appealing. Plus, I had so much more homework in middle school than I did in elementary school. Not to mention, I was spending a lot of time playing sports, doing other extracurriculars, and hanging out with friends my age. And so I let it go.

            I still stayed up late with my dad dreaming up Eagle project ideas, though. And I was so jealous when my brothers would come home from sleepaway camp with stories. My dad would buy me merit badge books (books that have all the information you would need to complete a badge) so that I could “earn” badges.  It was still something I wanted to do, but it was still something I couldn’t do.

            They announced that girls could join not too long after I stopped being a fake Cub Scout. But I still had to wait a year and a half before I could officially do it. And a year and a half is a long time when you’re eleven. But I did it. I joined. After several years of just being a sibling, I actually got to be a Scout.

            Even though I wanted to join so badly, I didn’t want to go to my first meeting. I had failed at convincing friends from school to join with me, and none of the younger sisters from my Cub Scout days were old enough yet. Thankfully, my dad quite literally forced me to go. He knew it was something I wanted to do, and he wasn’t going to let my social anxiety stop me from doing it. My first meeting was a blur. Honestly, the whole first year I was in Scouts was a blur because it was kind of overwhelming. There was so much that was different from Cub Scouts. But I grew past the nerves and fear and I began to love it.

While I loved going to troop meetings, I hated going to large events with other troops. There were boys there who made fun of us—adults too! I once had a grown man tell me that I, standing right in front of him, dressed in full Boy Scout uniform, wouldn’t understand what was going on because it was “a Boy Scout thing” and I was “just a Girl Scout.” I have been told more times than I can count that “it’s called Boy Scouts, not Girl Scouts” or some variation of that idea. I was even made fun of by my peers and friends for doing something so “embarrassing” and “weird”.

            Even though putting up with those people was a pain in the butt, I still went to meetings and events. I have learned so much across so many topics, not just the outdoorsy stuff, but life lessons too. I even got a job at the sleepaway camp I had been dying to attend. I have made so many lifelong friends and wonderful memories. But what I’m most proud of is the fact that I made Eagle Scout.

            For those of you who don’t know, that’s the highest rank you can achieve in Scouting America (as it’s now called). Only 6% of Scouts ever earn that rank. You have to learn so much information, complete countless badges, hold leadership positions, and design and lead a project that benefits your community, among many other tasks. It was so hard but so rewarding.

            Today, both of my brothers are still very active in Scouting. My little sister recently graduated (“crossed over”) from Cub Scouts to Scouting America! My dad has been super active in all our Scouting careers as an adult leader, and my mom even helps out with me and my sister’s troop by arranging our popcorn fundraisers every fall. It’s super weird to think that this huge part of my family’s life started because I made my brother do something one time over a decade ago.

Even though my time as a Scout ended when I turned eighteen over a year ago, I’m beyond grateful that seven years ago someone decided that girls should be allowed to be in Scouting, too. Whoever they were, they made eight-year-old me’s (rather different) dreams come true.