I got to the badge below Eagle (Life) basically as fast as it was mechanically possible to. I'm not sure when exactly, but by 8th grade at the latest. Then all of my friends dropped out of scouts when we got to high school. I ended up being Senior Patrol Leader and running the troop for a couple of years, and I avoided working on an Eagle project for a while... I had time.
Then at some point I decided I'd rather do something that other kids my age were also doing, so after much hand-wringing I quit Boy Scouts and joined the theater. I ended up being the lead in the school musical senior year, and I sung in choirs all through college. I did light opera. I joined a gospel choir and performed in baptist churches all across the state.
I also developed a deep belief that I could try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone, and excel at them.
I sometimes wonder whether I should've stayed and gotten the Eagle. Finishing things is certainly a weakness of mine. Maybe if I had spent those last two two years of high school hanging around with 13 year olds and building a bridge in the woods I'd be a better finisher. But I'd be a worse artist. And I'd be a more cautious person.
This is the second time I got rejected from YCombinator. And quitting is the furthest thing from my mind. But I'm glad I quit back then.
Then at some point I decided I'd rather do something that other kids my age were also doing, so after much hand-wringing I quit Boy Scouts and joined the theater. I ended up being the lead in the school musical senior year, and I sung in choirs all through college. I did light opera. I joined a gospel choir and performed in baptist churches all across the state.
I also developed a deep belief that I could try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone, and excel at them.
I sometimes wonder whether I should've stayed and gotten the Eagle. Finishing things is certainly a weakness of mine. Maybe if I had spent those last two two years of high school hanging around with 13 year olds and building a bridge in the woods I'd be a better finisher. But I'd be a worse artist. And I'd be a more cautious person.
This is the second time I got rejected from YCombinator. And quitting is the furthest thing from my mind. But I'm glad I quit back then.