Working Towards a vision That is not my own
During my junior year in high school, I was working on completing my cherished Eagle Scout award. This award took a lot of effort and time. Although I had been working towards it diligently for 4 years, around my sophomore year in high school I became distracted with other things, like sports, school, and friends. However, the time had come where I needed to complete all of the requirements or I would become too old to receive the award. One thing stood in my way.
In order to receive an Eagle Scout award, you must complete a service project. You are in charge of everything, from planning and getting those plans approved, to raising funds and completing the task. Now, I had no problem with getting things done; my problem was getting started. I wanted my project to be something of meaning and value, and I was drawing blanks on those two topics with every idea.
I remained out of ideas until one weekend at a campout. We had camped near a lake, and some of the younger boys in the troop were out tubing. I don’t know what directly led to the accident, but somehow a boat hit one of our twelve-year-old boys out on the lake. He was careflighted out, and he passed away at the hospital. When I heard the news, I knew my project was going to be something created in his memory. After talking with leaders, his parents, and his local church, we decided that the best thing would be to create a memorial garden at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the church that his parents attended.
Through this experience, I learned a lot about what hard work and commitment means, but I think my biggest lesson was learning that the pictures in my head and the ideas I have are not always what is most important. The design of the garden was left up to his parents and the church leaders, so I was only in attendance to voice concerns and help make small decisions. I spent much of the project overseeing the ideas of other people.
At the end of the project, I got to look back and see a beautiful garden that had been made. What was even more gratifying was that I gave his parents a place to feel rested and restored. It made my heart happy to know that his mother and father would have a place where they could go back and think of the wonderful memories they had with their son. It made me think about my mother, and how I would want her to have the same physical place to do this if something were to happen to me.
The garden helped me realize that others' opinions can be more valuable than what is going on in my mind. I learned how to consider outside thoughts and let those thoughts guide me in leading. That is a valuable lesson that has transferred over into my professional development through group projects and working with members of my fraternity. I use this lesson in order to keep others I am involved with comfortable by letting them speak their mind and and taking their opinions and ideas as valuable considerations.
In order to receive an Eagle Scout award, you must complete a service project. You are in charge of everything, from planning and getting those plans approved, to raising funds and completing the task. Now, I had no problem with getting things done; my problem was getting started. I wanted my project to be something of meaning and value, and I was drawing blanks on those two topics with every idea.
I remained out of ideas until one weekend at a campout. We had camped near a lake, and some of the younger boys in the troop were out tubing. I don’t know what directly led to the accident, but somehow a boat hit one of our twelve-year-old boys out on the lake. He was careflighted out, and he passed away at the hospital. When I heard the news, I knew my project was going to be something created in his memory. After talking with leaders, his parents, and his local church, we decided that the best thing would be to create a memorial garden at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the church that his parents attended.
Through this experience, I learned a lot about what hard work and commitment means, but I think my biggest lesson was learning that the pictures in my head and the ideas I have are not always what is most important. The design of the garden was left up to his parents and the church leaders, so I was only in attendance to voice concerns and help make small decisions. I spent much of the project overseeing the ideas of other people.
At the end of the project, I got to look back and see a beautiful garden that had been made. What was even more gratifying was that I gave his parents a place to feel rested and restored. It made my heart happy to know that his mother and father would have a place where they could go back and think of the wonderful memories they had with their son. It made me think about my mother, and how I would want her to have the same physical place to do this if something were to happen to me.
The garden helped me realize that others' opinions can be more valuable than what is going on in my mind. I learned how to consider outside thoughts and let those thoughts guide me in leading. That is a valuable lesson that has transferred over into my professional development through group projects and working with members of my fraternity. I use this lesson in order to keep others I am involved with comfortable by letting them speak their mind and and taking their opinions and ideas as valuable considerations.