Matt Barry

My tenure as the Scoutmaster for my son's Troop is coming to a close. In looking back at the journey, I'm finding that what I thought I was doing wasn't what really happened. I did not choose this role. The Scoutmaster I replaced chose me. He felt that I had the demeanor and qualities needed to take the lead for the Troop. I had my doubts, but I accepted. Scouting America is designed to be a youth-led organization, with adult supervision and support. In reality, Scouts need quite a bit more adult leadership, and so, with the help of my other adult leaders, we led. We led camping trips into Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. We hiked miles into campsites that had us disconnected from the world for days. We blazed new trails, got lost, and found our way back time and time again. We learned how to collaborate, support each other, overcome obstacles, and boy did we have fun while doing it. If I add it all up, I camped for 123 nights, hiked over 150 miles and gave back 142 hours of service through several projects, some Eagle Scout Projects (including my son's). I'll be stepping away from my role with thousands of memories and milestones, and very few of them mine alone, but all of them cherished, with many shaping who I have become these 7 years later. What I have come to learn is that throughout all of it - the meetings, the adventures, the challenges - I wasn't leading the Troop, my Scouts led me.