Scouting and Superpowers Anonymous

I've gone 21 days without showering, swum across frigid lakes, climbed over mountains, and eaten the seemingly inedible. I believe any task can be accomplished with the right attitude, no challenge is too great, and no peak too perilous. I apply this somewhat obsessive mentality to my entire life, whether it's to try to read everything ever written by Truman Capote or become a wilderness first responder.

When Boy Scouts of America changed its name by dropping the "boy" part and began to allow young women to join its program, I added a new goal to my list. I decided to become an Eagle Scout. Most kids join scouting before the age of 11, but I began my journey to become an Eagle Scout at 17. Going into it, I knew my goals were ambitious, potentially impossible. I wanted to become one of the first female Eagle Scouts and I wanted to do it before I graduated high school. People frequently ask me why I want to become an Eagle Scout and I always struggle to provide an adequate answer. Sometimes I say it's because when I was little I always wanted to join my Dad and my brother on their camping trips. Sometimes I say it's because I know if I didn't try I would regret it. Sometimes I tell them it's because I really love teaching 11...