When I was a scout, and the Boy Scouts of the United States
of America, there was very little that I ever wanted to do with the outside
world. It was pulling teeth to even contemplate dragging me on a camping trip,
and four out of six years I went to summer camp I probably was unofficially
awarded the biggest pansy award. I love my novelty of indoors, but mostly just
missed showering and did not have an affinity for sweating constantly. However,
even after sitting a Tenderfoot for 2 years, I never stop giving up on rank
advancement. My dad only made it to life Scout, and he really wanted me to
strive for Eagle Scout and push myself. It has definitely come in handy and
anyways since then, and I was bound upon that further in a book.
As for now, it is important to understand that the feat was accomplished. I was able to get my Eagle Scout award after 10 years of service to the BSA. To this day, I come back as I'm able to and assist as a junior assistant scoutmaster. I learned as much as I could, overcame a lot of adversity, and even eventually learned how to survive being out of the house.
Not only did being in Boy Scouts contribute to my passion of travel, but it really taught me how to appreciate nature and all of its small intricacies. Although I am also guilty myself, I must mention that there is so much that you miss when they are staring down at a small little computer screen in your hand. Being in Scouts, we were not allowed to have technology with us on trips in my troop, or it'd be confiscated, screwed with, and then given back to us after the trip. I didn't want any of the above to happen, so I was pretty complacent.
Although I have switched troop snow as I've grown older, being a scoutmaster for a younger troop with fewer members, some of my best memories were with my old troop, troop 94. In 9th grade, we met up with a sister troop from Duncannon, an hour away from us, and we canoed and kayaked 40 miles on the Juniata River over an entire weekend. We hit the bike trails of Gettysburg, slept in the Backwoods of northeast Pennsylvania, visited the military base in the USS battleship, took a couple of historical hikes with lots of information, hiked the Appalachian Trail, and just in general got out and enjoyed nature and did things that the average teenager wouldn't do on a weekend.
Scouting taught me basic essential life skills that have helped me in every aspect of my life. Even the 12 point Scout Law and Scout Oath have become integral Dogma and my interactions with other human beings, and have been practiced so thoroughly that they are now a subconscious part of who I am. And now, I get to pass my experiences and scouting down to next generation of Scouts and leaders. Who knows, one of the kids I am teaching the day could end up being our surgeon general or President...
There are 12 points of the Scout Law, the Scout Law is as follows:
As for now, it is important to understand that the feat was accomplished. I was able to get my Eagle Scout award after 10 years of service to the BSA. To this day, I come back as I'm able to and assist as a junior assistant scoutmaster. I learned as much as I could, overcame a lot of adversity, and even eventually learned how to survive being out of the house.
Not only did being in Boy Scouts contribute to my passion of travel, but it really taught me how to appreciate nature and all of its small intricacies. Although I am also guilty myself, I must mention that there is so much that you miss when they are staring down at a small little computer screen in your hand. Being in Scouts, we were not allowed to have technology with us on trips in my troop, or it'd be confiscated, screwed with, and then given back to us after the trip. I didn't want any of the above to happen, so I was pretty complacent.
Although I have switched troop snow as I've grown older, being a scoutmaster for a younger troop with fewer members, some of my best memories were with my old troop, troop 94. In 9th grade, we met up with a sister troop from Duncannon, an hour away from us, and we canoed and kayaked 40 miles on the Juniata River over an entire weekend. We hit the bike trails of Gettysburg, slept in the Backwoods of northeast Pennsylvania, visited the military base in the USS battleship, took a couple of historical hikes with lots of information, hiked the Appalachian Trail, and just in general got out and enjoyed nature and did things that the average teenager wouldn't do on a weekend.
Scouting taught me basic essential life skills that have helped me in every aspect of my life. Even the 12 point Scout Law and Scout Oath have become integral Dogma and my interactions with other human beings, and have been practiced so thoroughly that they are now a subconscious part of who I am. And now, I get to pass my experiences and scouting down to next generation of Scouts and leaders. Who knows, one of the kids I am teaching the day could end up being our surgeon general or President...
There are 12 points of the Scout Law, the Scout Law is as follows:
A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
The Scout Oath:
The Scout Oath:
As an American, I will do my
best, to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey Scout Law. To help
other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake,
and morally straight.
If you combine these things with a passion for being outside and putting the out into Scout, experiencing everything that you possibly can, then you will make a Great Scout. Your average teenager won't be putting on three layers of jackets and sleeping on the ground in the middle of the Woods, surviving off of rations and scavenged food and the fire that you've learned how to build yourself without matches. The average teenager will not go mountain climbing, where hiking, or seeing historical sites on the week end. They will not explore nature, meet friends with common interests, shoot at targets, throw hatchets, make explosions (usually when a rocket launch goes wrong), learn 23 life skills over a few years while still young, or organize and lead a conservation project. These are all things that scouts do, and if you're serious about it, you'll even ascend to Eagle.
If you combine these things with a passion for being outside and putting the out into Scout, experiencing everything that you possibly can, then you will make a Great Scout. Your average teenager won't be putting on three layers of jackets and sleeping on the ground in the middle of the Woods, surviving off of rations and scavenged food and the fire that you've learned how to build yourself without matches. The average teenager will not go mountain climbing, where hiking, or seeing historical sites on the week end. They will not explore nature, meet friends with common interests, shoot at targets, throw hatchets, make explosions (usually when a rocket launch goes wrong), learn 23 life skills over a few years while still young, or organize and lead a conservation project. These are all things that scouts do, and if you're serious about it, you'll even ascend to Eagle.
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