What Scouting means to me

When I first joined Scouting I was only a little kid and had no idea what it was or why I was doing it.
My parents wanted me to do I did. After my first few minutes I was hooked. I love the adventure and
the fun. Over the years I grew older and moved up through the program. Scouting became the biggest
thing in my life and the number one thing I looked forward to doing every week. It was the one thing
my parents could hold over my head to get me to do things they wanted me to do or I needed to do.

Eventually I became a youth leader, although never really a strong one but I learned a lot and it did help
me develop even more. I guess I should note here that I have well more learning disabilities and
challenges then one could count. I was (and in some ways still am) one of those kids that bounced off
the ceilings, walls and everything else around me. My attention span was shorter then the burn time of
a match. Farther more I had explosive tendencies. Years later, long after I was an adult, I learned from
my dad that many times the Troop tried to kick me out. My dad each time would stand up for me and
also tell them that if I left he would leave.

All I can say nine years after joining Cub Scouts I earned the rank of Eagle. To this day I am more
proud of being an Eagle then my two degrees in Computer Science. To this day Scouting has done
more for then any other organization or group of people. I owe my dad and mother so much for making
it all possible.

As a Webelos every time I would scatter past my mom should grab me and make me recite a few points
of the Scout Law just so that I could learn them. My dad practically had to sit on me to teach me my
first few knots. Now I am the known as the knot expert. Yes, like all teenage my parents had to poke
me with the sharp stick, as well as help and guide me to make eagle. Was it worth it... Yes would I
change anything ¦ No.