Aging Out - What I'm Taking With Me
| Category: | Aging Out |
|---|---|
| Notes: | Written for the Scout who is aging out to deliver at their last troop meeting, final campfire, or court of honor. They can read it as-is or swap in their own memories. Part of a series - see also aging-out-the-send-off, aging-out-watching-them-go, and aging-out-the-door-stays-open. For a full ceremony, see /ceremonies/aging-out-ceremony. |
I was asked to say a few words tonight, which is funny. For most of my years in this troop I was the one in the back hoping nobody would call on me.
I'm not going to tell you how many campouts I've been on. I lost count somewhere around the one where it rained for three days straight, we ate cold oatmeal, and laughed about it anyway.
People keep asking what I'm taking with me. They expect me to say the badges, or the rank. Those are in a box somewhere. Here's what I'm actually taking.
I know how to stay calm when something goes wrong, because on a campout something always goes wrong. I know how to stand up in front of a group and talk, even when my voice shakes. I know how to teach a younger Scout to tie a bowline without grabbing the rope out of their hands. That one took me years.
And I know what it feels like to be trusted with something that matters. The first time a leader handed me a plan and said, "It's yours" - I didn't know it then, but that was the night I started growing up.
Tonight I stop being a youth member of this troop. I don't stop being a Scout. The Oath I said at my first meeting didn't come with an expiration date.
To the younger Scouts: the campouts go by faster than you think. Go on all of them.
To everyone else - thank you. For all of it.