And I survived!
This was my first official event as Akela.
I wanted it to go as smoothly and as awesomely as possible. I have been running thru what I wanted to accomplish and how, for weeks. I ever thought and made myself sick with anxiety, more than once.
First impressions have the biggest impact. And this was not a first impression I could wing.
And I think I did great. I looked official. I created a map and compass course (with the help of some scouts and my assistant TW leader). I created a special little momento that the scouts good physically hold on to and take home. I was having meaningful conversations. The scouts I already knew and who knew me, we worked great together.
I also used this time to watch, from afar, my TWs. And I watched how they interacted with others, how they participated in other activities, and even listened to how they spoke to eachother.
And then I tried explaining how to use a compass to kids. And I lost all confidence.
I am not a great public speaker. Public speaking is a great weakness I am actively working on overcoming. But at the present moment….my words come out of my mouth in weird and awkward sentences. I guess I overexplain. Alot.
So my goal this year will be to learn how to explain things at a level my scouts are on. Basically, the less words, the less complex, the better.
It also does not help that I also am not fluent at reading a compass. So I have added orienteering to my list of skills I need to get better at this year. Until then…I will just have to delegate to others that do know how to simplify compass instructions.
But besides that…our first official group event that we have worked tirelessly on for the past few months….I feel like it was a major success.
I do not know how many potential people we reached. But I do know that we did not epically fail and go down in the smoldering marshmallow making fire pit.
We definitely did our best. And it showed.
Our first All Sections Meeting is in just 2 weeks!
My Be Prepared List: I need to make sure I have handy resources that discuss all about BPSA. I also need to start thinking about what I want to write home to the parents about what they can expect from me and vice versa.
This is going to be a great year.
