Arrow of Light to Eagle.

(This story is written from my standpoint and real-life experiences. I hope you all enjoy it! I really wanted to write this story, in fact, this story has been in the works for a while. I hope you all love it as much as I do!)

Hi, my name is Emelia Bergstralh. I went to a quick arrow of light to the youngest female Eagle Scout in the entire United States of America. I was twelve when I got my award. I am thirteen at the moment. The first time I really went camping I was eight. I had gone to a few cub scout meetings for my brother, but girls were not allowed in yet. So, my dad took me to summer camp. Camp Marriot in Goshen, Virginia. I got my first uniform and pocket knife. I had so much fun. In the car driving home with my little brother in the back, I told my dad for the first time that I wanted to be an Eagle Scout. He told me it was a long road. That he went down it. He had burnout, and I had to be careful not to overwork myself. And he was going to help me all the way to the top, just like him.

It was January, and I was nine when it was announced girls were allowed in cub scouts. My dad enrolled me into pack 106, a brand new pack allowing both genders. I got my arrow of light in less than ten months. All the other weblos were a year older and ahead. I rocketed through weblos one and two in a flash. In February, I got put into a brand new troop. I showed up for the first meeting, and out of twenty or so girls, I was the only one with a uniform. It was officially announced that we were going to be a girl's troop that evening. In February, already with the girl's troop, I completed a ton of stuff. My half birthday came around, and I came out of my arrow of light and went into the troop officially. I was no longer with 106. I was officially a scout. I could not believe it.

Now, at this point, I had started to figure out that not everyone supported me. In fact, there were a lot of people online who hated me. That believed females were not supposed to do the things that I was. I gave a few speeches and made it into the press once. I was not doing it for attention. I did not talk about it to my friends a lot though, because of how afraid I was that people would see me differently than the way they saw me at school or before. During fourth grade, I mentioned it twice. During fifth grade, I didn't mention it at all, and not during sixth either. Only recently did I start being a bit more public and open to talking about my achievements, because there were other scouts at my middle school.

Pack 106 offered for me to wait for the two girls they had in bears. It would have been two years before they got there. I would be fourteen by the time they would have three girls to have a girls troop. There would not be enough people. One of the boys also went to 3067, the boy's troop. I was quite set on 67 though. I decided to register with them. My den master was sad, but the adult leaders understood. They knew I did not want to wait. They understood I was going to go on and do great things.

Almost immediately after, I went to summer camp. Resica Falls. I was with troop 3067. I was so excited. I went through a first-year program and was the youngest scout there at only ten and a half years old. I knocked out a couple of merit badges. Only two. I had also had a couple of other merit badges before that. But only two. And then I got home, washed all my stuff, and at two in the morning I went back to Marriot. I got eleven or so merit badges. By the end of the week, I had a ton of merit badges. I went back, had a court of honor and I got to second class. Then I went to first-class, and then star. But unfortunately, the year turned to 2020, March. We had no choice, but to go virtual.

During 2020 and part of 2021, all we could do was virtual stuff. Still, I persisted, got a ton of merit badges, and to life. In April 2021, I had my Eagle project. And a few weeks later, on May fourth, 2021, I had my Eagle Scout board of review. I passed and about a week later I got to have my court of honor. I had finally done it. The thing I had wanted to do, one of my wishes for years is now a reality. A dream I had since I was nine years old. I now believe that anything is possible. You can do anything if you try hard enough. My dad has been my number one supporter through everything. If it wasn't for him then I would have given up on my dream.

I love my dad so much. He has helped me so much. My mom has been a super helper too. She has told me when to take a break during times when I was close to burnout or I was working myself too hard. My scoutmaster always stood there and helped me. Who I still enjoy seeing every Thursday. Even my den master, when I was with 106 helped me. Even though we don't talk anymore, or really interact. Scouting has brought so much joy to my life. It has made me have a dream come true. Scouting and why I love it is so hard to explain to other people. It is an experience that is so hard to explain to other people. I totally recommend being a scout. It brings you unbelievable experiences that we love.