Growing up in a middle-class suburb of Chicago, Brownies and Girl Scouts were only one of many after-school activities that were offered to me. While I liked the idea of selling cookies to my family and family's co-workers for exciting prizes (and I really liked eating the cookies – Samoas, Tagalongs… mmmmm…), I wasn't terribly interested in the other activities that scouting offered, like camping. I already did crafts on my own, anyway. Still, the lure of Brownies and Girl Scouts sucked a few of my other friends in, and they had a good time.