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David Pitts

Ms. Perry

English 12

17 November 2020

How Scouting Shaped My Life

During my time in scouting I learned many things. Scouting was a fun experience in

which I was taught a lot. One of the things I learned was how to respect myself and others.

Acquiring the knowledge about duty to God and my country was interesting and increased my

patriotism. The scout oath is “On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my

country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically

strong, mentally awake and morally straight”. 

When I was five years old I joined scouting. Part of scouting was to learn the oath and

motto and what they meant. The motto which is “Be Prepared” means to make sure you are

ready for anything. The oath is made up of three promises that you plan on keeping forever.

These helped to shape my life by remembering the promise of duty to God, duty to my Country

and the duty to myself. Scouting was a great place to learn new skills. Skills such as knot tying,

fire starting, knife handling, cooking, and camping. One thing taught was how to tie several

different knots quickly and proficiently and how they were best used. Fire starting which is an

important skill in case someone is out in the woods alone. Fire starting takes time and patience to

master but a great feeling when you do. Gaining information on how to camp showed me how to

set up a tent properly and the importance of leaving no trace or any evidence that any human had

been in the woods. Teaching me how to tie food in a bear bag in a tree so bears do not attack the
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campsite, this is a skill I will always remember so my campsite does not get attacked. Learning

about how to safely handle a knife and about a “blood zone” which is the perimeter of an arm’s

length around your body no one should be in, is a skill that has come in handy when cooking at

home. Knife skills go perfectly for learning how to cook on an open camp fire. These life skills

helped to impacted by life by giving me a variety of hands on skills which can be used for a life

time. Scouting is a great place to teach and learn life skills that will be needed later in life.

While in scouting I was able to participate in several fun events. Events like visiting the

police station and learning about the K-9 dogs was fun and exciting. Experiencing the inside of a

jail cell and wearing police equipment was inspiring for future jobs. While a scout I went to flag

ceremonies and parades this gave me pride in my country and fellow American’s. One year at

the dairy parade we even won an award for small group marching. Participation as a community

service project, in an International food festival, which is where people represented different

countries with food to taste. Selling popcorn for the scouts gave me experience in talking to

strangers and having to learn about my product, hard work led to me receiving many awards for

top seller. Cub and boy scout camps were where new skills were learned and practiced. Some of

these skills were pellet gun, archery, cooking, veterinary practice, salesmanship, and bike safety.

On Dry Hill I made a snow box and was able to race down the sled hill. The box was designed to

be a Star Wars ship. There was also a rain gutter regatta yearly where we designed a sailboat and

raced it down the gutter powered by me blowing through a straw. Annually and the most popular

was the pinewood derby, which involved a car which is made out of a wooden block by the

scout, into any design that could be imagined. By designing many cars, with my favorite being a

Harry Potter green car, I had to use imagination, it won race and design. I have won many

trophies for finishing and designing over the many years I was in scouting. These are some of the
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many things that I participated in while in scouting. Participating in the many group activities

gave me experience and knowledge in many different category’s which helped shaped me and

give me courage to do unknown things.

I am very proud of my time in scouting and the things I accomplished. By participating in

several events including scout camps I learned many things. All of the things I learned in

scouting will stay with me into adulthood.