Glorious Cub Scout years:
Pack meeting!
Brenden and I before a pinewood derby. If memory serves, he smoked me. Plus his car looked way cooler.
Then I grew up a little bit and became a Boy Scout. (pretty natural progression)
And somehow lost a ton of weight along the way.
I made it to the "Life" rank, just a couple merit badges (and major service project) short of my Eagle Award. But somewhere along the way I lost the vision. Merit badges became more hoops to jump through than badges of honor. I loved camping, loved the outdoors, but didn't love the program. That said, I was going to get my Eagle because apparently that impresses people and apparently that's important. My parents had also threatened to not let me get my driver's license until I had my Eagle, so there was that, too.
But then we moved from Portland to Houston. I'd already gotten my license in Portland, but any threats of me not having a car or not being able to drive until I had completed the Eagle were thrown out by necessity - my parents had zero interest in carting me to/from seminary and school at ungodly hours when I was perfectly capable of driving myself, lack of Eagle award notwithstanding.
Further, somehow during that move we lost the majority of my blue cards, which are an archaic form of proof for the merit badges a scout has earned. I was faced with calling up previous scout masters and merit badge counselors and/or Scout Council (region offices), which by then spanned both Seattle and Portland areas. I was not excited about doing this but was still determined I would, at some point, because.
But then BYU invited me to a recruiting event ("Y Weekend"). The only significant question I remember asking the recruiter during the event was if, because BYU had deemed me fit to actively pursue me, having or not having an Eagle award would make any difference in my likelihood of being offered a spot. The answer was a sheepish "No." I was told it'd be great and stuff (same epic stories of impressing strangers when they see "Eagle" at the bottom of my resume), but, no, BYU was pretty much guaranteed to offer me a spot because I'd been selected for Y Weekend.
At that point in my life, BYU was the only person/entity I was concerned with impressing with my fancy Eagle badge, and since they apparently didn't care, neither did I. Any imagined efforts to dig up my blue cards, finish those last couple merit badges, and plan/implement that service project were out the window.
The fateful Y Weekend (October 2004)
...I find it mildly amusing that BYU served as the linchpin for me not earning my Eagle (but let's be honest, my procrastination may very well have prevented me from getting it in either case)
Fast forward 11 years (yep, I'm a baby) and I still hadn't given not earning my Eagle a second thought. I got into the only school I really wanted to attend, married my dream girl, I got my dream job, and then got an even better one. Not having an Eagle never seemed to make a difference.
She didn't seem to mind.
Then, soon after moving into our new ward in the Bay Area, I volunteered to attend a kayaking trip with the young men. Then I got called into Young Mens, as Assistant Priest Quorum Adviser (assistant leader for the 16-18 year olds). Then I got called to be the Scout Master for our ward. Now I'm asked all the time if I got my Eagle - both in formal scouting contexts and also when I tell work colleagues about my new pass time. Merp.
So, despite all of my hesitancies, I'm back in the Scouting program. I've loved serving with the youth (Heidi and I co-taught the 16-18 year old Sunday school class back in Dallas, and that was pretty much the best calling ever [with the best group of teenagers ever!]); and I've really enjoyed working with the young men in this ward. I'm excited to make a positive difference in the lives of these young men. I'm excited to stir up their testimonies and help them enjoy the beauties of the natural world. I'm excited for the excuse to go camping. I'm working on being excited for the program.
SM McQuay
(son of lifer Scout Master McQuay, so apparently it's in my blood)
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