Cub Scouts: A Short Story

I remember seeing my pinewood derby car going down the track; it was silver, blue letters on it that said sonic and black wheels that sounded like a hot wheels car going down a track. I was only 6 years old when that happened. Now I stand in front of the board representing Boy Scouts of America, ¨Congratulations, you are officially an Eagle Scout.¨ It hits me all the sudden like a wave hitting a sea wall, an 11 year journey just ended and it’s time to see the outcome.

I didn’t want to have to leave my friends in Nashville and be forced to make new ones in Atlanta. I didn’t want to get used to another new house or another city. I just wanted to stay in the only place I could call home. As the day of my departure approached, I thought of running away, so I wouldn’t have to move and my dad could keep his job in Atlanta. Thankfully, I never went through with it. When the day finally arrived, I was everything but ready. My mom had picked my brother up from school early to help move boxes out of the house and into our car while the movers haled broken down beds, and other pieces of furniture into their industrial moving trucks. Once everything was packed into trucks, paper work was finished and dogs were loaded in the car, we began the long 4-hour trip to Atlanta as dusk made its way to the sky. The trip itself was a calm one, we managed to avoid any major accidents on the highway, and we were traveling around 8 o’clock so the traffic had died down. As we drove I couldn’t help but think back to the friends I left and what was to come

Not many young men have the opportunity to experience the adventure that I had, and I hope that changes someday. It revolutionizes kids to become the best they can be, and Scouts use me as a perfect example. They didn’t think that I could make it through Scouts as far as I did because I kept silent. Boy Scouts taught me about how to live life and do it with confidence, and I can finally tell my story comfortably and with

When my grandfather earned his Eagle Scout Rank in 1933, he unknowingly began what would become a family tradition that has helped mold my personal perspective today. He ignited a passion for Boy Scouts within my family, which continued through my father, and was fulfilled by me when I earned the Rank of Eagle in 2014. Scouting formed me into the person I am today more so than any other activity I have ever been involved with, reinforcing my family’s emphasis on leadership, service, and work ethic.

This year’s family vacation was one for the books. With my aunt living in Tennessee, we do not get together as often as we would like so my family decided to go to Nashville, Tennessee. When we started our trip, it was 6 a.m. and it was nothing short of fun and laughter along the way. Never having been to Tennessee before, I figured I’d enjoy the eight-hour ride of sight-seeing and laughter with my family. When we were a few miles into the trip, the mountains of Georgia were breathtaking. While I was enjoying the scenery, another thing that I found enjoyable about this trip was the conversation that I had with my family. We went on talking about life in general, all the struggles, and childhood memories that we had. We even talked about years

the way that Boo Radley is locked up in his house and kept away from

Airplanes. Window seats. Wilderness. Just a few of my favorite things, Melanie thought quietly to herself while flying over Canada. Staring out the window, gazing at snow-covered mountains that looked like they were peeking into the clouds, she tried to remember how long it had been since she last saw Connor, her older brother. When she was younger, they were close but their bond had faded out as Connor was constantly moving, never able to settle down. The last time she saw her brother was almost three years ago when they spent the day hiking in the Delaware Water Gap. Being surrounded by the wilderness seemed to be one of the things that always united them. Recently, as a high school senior, she moved from Arizona to Louisiana. Meanwhile,

It was nightfall before we reached the deceptively quiet town of Beacon Hills. The highway was shrouded thick with trees on each side and I was briefly reminded of home, an unsettling feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. ‘It’s safe here,’ Chris had assured us, ‘things will be easier.’ I wanted desperately to put faith in those words, repeating it to myself as a sort of mantra on the drive down, but the doubt had only grown with every mile we traveled.

You probably don’t know this about me, but I used to be an eagle scout. And in order to be an eagle scout, you have to do things like go camping. And over the summer, my troop would like to travel about six hours north of Milwaukee to a place called Camp Lefeber, where we would camp in the wilderness for several days. About ten to twenty other scout troops from around Wisconsin would meet us there, and there were no cabins at the camp grounds. Instead, we slept in tents. My first year at camp, my friend, Matthew, and I had just the minimum age requirement to go: twelve years old. And, being the good friends that we are, we decided to share a tent for the time we were at camp. It’s not weird. We were in the wilderness. We shared for survival.

Rather than being lead by the older scouts, it was me and my friends who began to run the troop. The ones that I had looked up to had mostly left, and, almost seemingly without warning, it was our turn to lead, and mentor the new scouts. I was a troop guide, then an Assistant senior patrol leader, and then the quartermaster. All the while, I continued on my own to advance steadily through the scouting ranks. However, with these greater responsibilities, came greater enjoyment to be had out of scouting. We went to summer camps, high adventure camps, and dozens of troop-sponsored camping trips. I was nominated for, and accepted into, the Order of the Arrow, the Honor Society of Scouting. After being nominated by my Troop, I participated in a service project where we slept under the stars, followed by a period of silence and

The path to Eagle is not a journey that can be completed alone. Upon joining the Boy Scouts of America, I realized that I would need help from others to complete the monumental task of obtaining the Eagle rank. As I embarked on my path toward eagle, recognized that I would need guidance and examples of how to complete my eagle project. This realization prompted me to attend the eagle scout project of many individuals to whom I looked upon as role models. From each project, I acquired insightful advice about the responsibilities of an eagle scout while also improving the community. The service projects, which ranged from building benches for a park to restoring a church, helped me contribute by providing a beneficial service to many different

highest points in the games. After the rest of the campers made their way to the camp, the Wood Scouts approached the four new campers, a smirk on their faces.

Around noon, construction would cease and we would begin day camp. The Lakota children would arrive to food, crafts, and activities. I quickly developed special connections with two kids- Ziggy and Aaron. From a home

When I was young, I became a cub scout as did many of my friends. We all had that youthful joy with us and looked forward with a smile for scouts each week. Meeting was just for us to have fun and ecstatic laughter. The ranks, the beltloops, and the other rewards were subsidiary to me throughout my early years. It was not until I was almost a Webelo scout that these honors became a desire of mine; each one awarded to me at a court of honor was so easily able to bring me a feeling of success and triumph. The feeling was so amazing, I coveted for it. I sought to look for loopholes so I could earn all possible awards, even ones I did not deserve. My mother told me that was not how the system works though; she taught me at a young age in order

The birth of Venture Crew 182 in Wood-Ridge last year was probably the most impactful experience I have ever had; this event was so significant, because I was the person who created the group. For quite some time, I had pondered why it was that the Boy Scouts in town were permitted to engage in more adventurous activities than us Girl Scouts. While in the midst of searching for an answer and solution to this observation, I discovered the existence of Venture Scouts; venturing is a subsidiary group of the Boy Scouts open to young men and women to promote adventure, service, exemplary character, and much more. Almost immediately, I began acquiring a consensus of the popularity this potential organization could have in our community from my peers. Witnessing the enormous amounts of demonstrated interest, I began networking with local Boy and Girl Scout leaders, students and faculty within the school system, organizations for advertising, and most importantly the Boy Scout Council of Northern New Jersey to create the Wood-Ridge Venture Crew 182. Tremendously successful, the Venture Crew began its first year with over forty members, three