Leo Sun
Ambitions and Life Purpose Statement
5 years ago, I was on the verge of quitting the Scouting program. I had participated since Cub Scouts, but that didn't matter to me. My friend was moving, which meant that he wouldn't be a part of our troop anymore. He was the reason I joined in the first place, so without him, I felt no reason to stay. I was my troop's Scribe, but I always procrastinated my duties until Senior Patrol ended up covering for me. But at summer camp that year, something changed. As contrived as it may seem, I had an epiphany. I realized that I could only enjoy the activity as much as I wanted to, and the more I gave it, the more I would get in return.
Applying this mentality to Scouting and the rest of my life has made it much more fulfilling. Soon after this epiphany, I became a Patrol Leader in my troop, making me even more instrumental in keeping the troop running smoothly. Eventually, my fellow scouts noticed my newfound interest in scouting and elected me to the position of Assistant Senior Patrol Leader.
Outside of scouting, I helped lead classes and achieved the rank of black belt at my karate dojo, showing the culmination of 10 years of effort. I also made it to the Region level of the PMEA Band Festival on bass clarinet, missing out on the State level by just one place. Academically, I am a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and will be graduating from high school summa cum
laude with a GPA over 4.4.
After I graduate, I will be attending Purdue University for computer science. Due to its diverse applications, computer science will better allow me to achieve my goal, which is to help
people. It's not the biggest or most concrete goal in the world, but I believe that it is worth fighting to achieve. After all, one of the Scout Oath's tenets is "to help other people at all times." To me, this is the most important value in Scouting, which is reflected in the activity's emphasis on service.
In 5 years, I hope to have graduated from college and be enrolled in a graduate-level program. The research I will do as part of this program will hopefully be useful to the world in some way. In 10 years, I would like to have settled down somewhere. If I have kids, I would love for them to join their local BSA troop. Even if I don't, however, I would still try to be involved, whether it be as a merit badge counselor or otherwise. In 20 years, I would like to have done something impactful for the world. While all of that would be ideal, the mutability of the future is part of what makes life worth living, and I could easily find myself walking a different path.
As an Eagle Scout, I would join the other 2% of all scouts that achieve the rank. It would show me that my effort will always be rewarded and validate the epiphany I had 5 years ago.
Others would hold me to a higher standard in everything that I do and will expect me to embody the Scout Oath and Law. I will strive to meet and surpass these expectations each day I face
them.
