Hussain Qadri

In the temperate winter of my seventh grade year, I took a step outside of my comfort zone and joined Boy Scouts. Growing up in a very protective household, the thought of me going outside was quite shocking sadly. As a result, most of my early life was spent inside, safe from the dangers of the outside world. In the eyes of my mother, however, joining Boy Scouts was similar to snatching the reins of my life from her meddling hands. It marked the first time that I voluntarily undertook something I was not divinely commanded by my mother to partake in. After attending a month of meetings, I signed up to go on my first camping trip at the end of the month. Worried for my well-being, my mother also signed up to be an adult leader so she could keep an eye on me during the campout. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to interfere with any scouting activities since an adult’s role is to be lazy while the scouts lead themselves. As I advanced further in this program, my mother remained firm and kept attending every meeting and all of the campouts in hopes she could maintain a certain degree of control over me. However, I soon was elected to a position of responsibility, patrol leader, and this also marked the first time I waved good-bye to my mother through the car window rather than driving with her to the campsite. Four years later, I stood next my mother in front of my whole troop as I was being awarded my Eagle Scout badge, the highest rank in Boy Scouts. With a smile on my mother’s face, I knew she was secretly happy that I joined Boy Scouts the whole time.