This is what gives to girls and women a peculiar power and responsibility, for no Girl Scout or other honorable woman—whether old or young—could use her influence as a woman excepting to strengthen the characters and to support the honor of the men and boys with whom she comes in contact.
Kipling, in Kim, says that there are two kinds of women,—one kind that builds men up, and the other that pulls men down; and there is no doubt as to where a Girl Scout should stand.
This great law is nothing to make a girl feel proud or superior to men; but, on the contrary, the understanding of it should make her humble and watchful to be faithful to her trust. Many a boy has been strengthened in his character and his whole life made happier by the brave refusal of a girl to do wrong; while the opposite weakness has been the cause of endless misery and wretchedness.
To gain and always retain the power to be a true woman friend to the men who belong in her own sphere of life is not always an easy matter for a girl, for she cannot do it unless she keeps a watch over her own faults and weaknesses so that the best of her is always in control. You can not fight for the right in the life of another unless you are first fighting for the right in your own life.
The chief difficulty in acquiring this happy and cheerful dignity comes from the desire to be admired, which is a tendency inborn in the great majority of women. It stands in the way of their greatest strength and usefulness, because it takes away their real independence and keeps them thinking about themselves instead of about others. It is a form of bondage which makes them vain and self-conscious and renders impossible the truest and happiest companionship between men and women friends.
"Be prepared," therefore, to do a true woman's full duty to her men by never allowing the desire for admiration to rule your actions, words, or thoughts. Our country needs women who are prepared.
Prepared for what?
To do their duty.
Be Strong
Have you ever stopped to think that your most constant companion throughout life will be yourself? You will always have this body, this mind, and this spirit that you call "I," but this body, this mind, this spirit are constantly growing and changing, and it is quite possible for the owner to direct this growth and change. In order to live well, in order to possess the joy of life, and to be helpful to others, a Scout needs to apply her motto "Be prepared" to herself. Strength and beauty should be hers in body, mind, and spirit.