Juliette Gordon Low Reimagined

By Elizabeth W.

Most Girl Scouts know the story of how Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scout movement back in 1912—from her nickname “Daisy” to her memorable phone call to her cousin but what would this iconic woman’s story have been like if she lived a hundred years later? Here is my interpretation, based off of the account of Juliette’s life at girlscouts.org. (Remember, this is fiction!)

Courtesy: girlscouts.org

Juliette Mallory Kelcy Gordon was born on Halloween night, 1983. As a child, she was affectionately bestowed the nickname “Daisy;” ironically, this name was given due to her mild allergy to the flower, about which her older brothers were constantly teasing her. Secretly, Juliette referred to herself as “J-Low.” Juliette spent her childhood at her family’s large estate in Savannah, Georgia, where she enjoyed swimming in the summer and playing for the local tennis team in the spring and fall. When she entered into high school, she became somewhat of a local celebrity when it was discovered that she could hold a handstand longer than any of the other varsity cheerleaders. She was instantly promoted to the echelon of cheer captain

While in high school, Juliette developed her love of the arts by becoming very involved with every aspect of high school drama productions, from acting to constructing the sets. This love of the arts translated into other forms as well. She became a familiar face at local open-microphone poetry readings as well as at ballroom dancing competitions.

Unfortunately, this love of the arts ultimately led to Juliette’s poor hearing, for her iPod volume was always much too high for comfort, and she was perpetually seen with wearing her ear buds.

Juliette attended college in New York City on a tennis scholarship, where she majored in English and minored in French. After college, she put any career plans on hold to pursue her newfound love of travel; she visited every single state in the United States, plus nine countries in Europe. When she returned to Savannah after years of traveling, she decided that a traditional career path still did not suit her. So she married.

His name was William Robert Low, but Juliette called him Billy Bob. They married in Savannah and later moved to England. After several years in England, Juliette returned home to Savannah to help her mother and father learn how to use technology. They had been depleting their retirement fund on postage to England, so Juliette decided that they should learn how to e-mail.

When Juliette returned to England, she became Facebook friends with Lord Baden-Powell and Lady Baden-Powell, founders of the Boys Scouts and Girl Guides movements, and was invited to hear them speak at an event. There, Juliette decided that scouting was an organization she could do great things with, and thus her search for a career path had ended.

Juliette returned to Savannah to channel her energy into the creation of Girl Scouts. She had an iconic SKYPE chat with her cousin, in which she proclaimed, “I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!" To this, her cousin replied, “Oh, great! I’ll tweet it!”

With the help of her cousin, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, Juliette spread the word of her new Girl Scouts program. She even created a YouTube web show to advertise the first meeting, which was held on March 12, 2013 and broadcast via Livestream.

Since this first meeting of 18 girls and 200 virtual onlookers, Girl Scouts has grown into the booming organization it is today.

Juliette Gordon Low Reimagined

Girl Scouts ATL Lime Green Giraffe

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