Soaring Like an Eagle...Part 3

Choosing an Eagle project...

Keep your eyes open for a likely prospects
Look around for needs in your neighborhood or church
Notice the projects other guys are doing
Ask your church or charter organization
Keep your own talents, interests and skills in mind
Come up with some ideas for fund raising, possibly related to the project but it doesn't have to be
Think outside the box...be creative, be thoughtful, be you!

Soaring Like an Eagle...Part 2

Think "Eagle" when:
 

~choosing which merit badges to work on at a merit badge fair--try to choose at least one "Eagle required" merit badge at each fair
~moving up the ranks--don't dawdle
~deciding whether to help a fellow scout on his Eagle project or to stay home and play video games
~taking on leadership roles








Make a spread sheet or a poster or even an old fashioned "to do" list of the Eagle required Merit Badges as well as a plan for earning them. Ask your scoutmaster if the troop can work together on some of the more involved ones that take a lot of time and require accountability such as "Personal Management" or "Physical Fitness." Begin work on those two as soon as you can. Don't wait until you are a Life Scout; you will be busy enough then!

Speaking of earning merit badges, from now on and forever more, save all the little slips you get when you earn a merit badge. Organize them in your scouting notebook (you do have a scouting notebook, don't you?) in a plastic baseball card organizer. You can organize them alphabetically, chronologically, according to whether or not they are Eagle required...just whatever makes sense to you.

Soaring Like an Eagle or Waddling Like a Duck--Part 1

...some hints on how to attain your Eagle Rank in a timely fashion and not make your mom (or anyone else) think you're a turkey...

Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout is not merely a process of going through the steps to complete a project, checking off tasks on the "to do" list,  finishing the paperwork and then enjoying a ceremony and party. It is a character building, life-altering, significant series of events. Attaining this rank has the potential to affect your entire future! (college entrance committees look favorably on Eagle Scouts,  attaining your Eagle rank looks great on scholarship applications, employers will often choose to hire an Eagle vs. a non-Eagle, networking opportunities abound, skills can be sharpened and sometimes an Eagle project leads to the discovery of talents you never even knew you possessed!)

Your Eagle journey doesn't begin when you are a Life Scout; it begins the minute you cross over to Boy Scouts! Eagle Scouts and leaders agree that it is a good idea to keep your "Eagle" goal of  always in the back of your mind.