Rob's Page. Me & my Mom.

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January 1998 - Thank you for stopping by my page - I'm sorry that I don't have time right now to prepare a proper welcome - this has been a busy time - I am a senior in high school, have just earned my Eagle Award in Scouting, and recently learned of my acceptance at Rochester Institute of Technology - I start in September....

Here is my RIT application essay:

I Promise

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"Guess what." "What?" "I'm gonna be an Eagle Scout some day." "That's a pretty big goal for a Tiger Cub." "I don't care. I'm gonna be an Eagle Scout, I promise!"

I don't remember exactly what I said. I don't even remember who exactly I said it to. But I do remember the promise I made to my six-year-old self that some day I would achieve the highest rank in Scouting. Now, over a decade later, I have fulfilled that promise. On November 11, 1997, I passed my board of review and became an Eagle Scout. It was the culmination of a lifelong dream, and a chance to prove myself as someone faithful to his ideals.

A lot happens in eleven years; a lot changes. Friends come and go; school days drag on then fly away behind; interests spark, mature, and die, but this commitment has always driven me. It wasn't always easy. Sometimes I truly felt that I couldn't do it. There were times when I was certain I would quit. My first campout after completing Cub Scouts and joining Boy Scouts was one such occasion. Two troop leaders set out with a group of about ten of us to go for a "night hike." We left the campsite around 7 pm. After walking for over an hour, one of the leaders stopped and explained that we were "temporarily misplaced." We all knew he meant we were lost. Over the next hour the group slowly settled into two smaller groups. Most of the scouts, weary and sick of walking settled into a silent, steady hiking pace. On the other hand, I was a wreck! On the verge of tears, I separated myself from the group and walked along a dozen paces behind them. I was scared, I was angry, and I wasn't going to hide it. At nearly 10 pm we finally returned to camp, where we were told that at no time had we been more than 15 minutes from our site. The leaders had been "testing" to see how each of us would react. I was so angry, I swore that I would quit the next day. But I didn't. That little six-year-old took me by the hand and helped me find the way through it. He never let me forget the promise I had made.

Many years and many experiences later, during my board of review, one of the leaders from that campout asked me why I thought they had done what they did. In answer, I explained that they had been looking for leaders. They wanted to see how each of us would react in a frightening situation. At the time, I reacted rather poorly, but I learned a very important lesson: the strength of a leader is not lack of fear, but the ability to control it and avoid being consumed by it. After that evening and its lessons I never again found myself hiding behind the group. Instead I would jump out in front and take control. Looking into the eyes of that little six-year-old, I saw a glint of pride.

The biggest obstacle in my scouting career, my Eagle Scout project, was yet another opportunity for me to prove myself. This project is the final test, the most involved requirement for Eagle. It was this, above all else, which would test the bounds of all that scouting had taught me. My first project concept fell through after quite a bit of research. I was discouraged because I'd wasted so much time pursuing an idea, only to be told that it couldn't be done. The project was too intricate and required skilled labor which would be unavailable to me. I was almost 17 when this happened and no advancement is allowed after one's 18th birthday. I wasn't sure I could make it. Then, I did something stupid. I procrastinated, and very nearly didn't try again. But, in one of those late-night conversations we all hold with ourselves, I remembered that little six-year-old and his childish idealism. "I will be an Eagle Scout, I promise," he had said, and I owed it to him to fulfill that promise. I realized that the only way to overcome a failure is to move on. The next day, I made contacts in search of a new project. I wound up clearing and installing a safe, crushed-stone walkway at my church, leading from the church-school to the playground. The particulars of the project are not as important as the fact that with nothing more than a six-year-old's promise to motivate me I planned, organized, and carried out the project with members of my troop. That little six-year-old was by my side for over a decade. And each time I turned to him for help he had grown, matured, and learned so much.

When I sat down to my board of review he was by my side. The board went well. They asked me about my experiences in scouting. What had I learned, how had I grown, why had I kept on going for so long? I told them truthfully about a promise I had made so many years before, and how simply by being there with them I was keeping that promise. I told them about responsibility, commitment, respect, and perseverance. Over the course of the evening I proved to them, as well as myself, that I had learned many lessons. They complimented me on how much that little six-year-old had "grown up" over the years. They told me that once you are an Eagle Scout it stays with you for life. So too, I believe, do the ideals expressed in the Scout Law. When I learned that I had passed my board and become an Eagle Scout, that six-year-old leaned over and said: "Thank you for keeping your promise. Are you as glad you did it as I am?" Of course I am. And I've never been prouder.

© C.Robert Hyman 1997

Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

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And a taste of my work:

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Feel free to e-mail me @: robh@ct1.nai.net.