My story begins at Onteora Scout Reservation in Upstate New York. The Boy Scouts of America have an honor society known as the Order of the Arrow, which is for Scouts who wish to dedicate themselves to an order that serves others more than that of the Boy Scouts. Scouts are selected through a troop-wide vote, and I was one of the few scouts selected to participate in the ordeal to join this order.
The ordeal was a series of tests in order to confirm that we, the candidates, are fit to join this order. Before we began, however, we were required to take a series of 24-hour vows that included silence, fasting, service, and sleeping alone. This story, however, is centered on a man named Robert. He became what is known as an “elangomat,” or the person who leads us through our ordeal. Robert was evidently new to his job, as he was extremely nervous and clearly had stage fright. Many stories of the ordeal originate from this man, as he proved to be a major klutz – unprepared and scared out of his mind.
Robert also proved to be a very timid person. Many candidates spoke, breaking their vows of silence, but he had a tough time trying to control them. Robert did a poor job at preparing for our service projects, as he was not notified of the time and location. In addition to this, he also worked us candidates out to an excessive amount of 6 …show more content…
Outside the dining hall, Robert turns to the group of candidates and begins by saying, “I understand that I may have done a poor job of elangomat and I apologize to you guys for not doing as well as I should have, so I would ask that you guys raise your hands if you believe I did a poor job of elangomat.” I, along with a few other scouts, raised my hand in honesty. “Okay. Did all of you candidates at least learn something through this ordeal?” We all unanimously raised our hands. “Good, that’s what I really care
The ordeal was a series of tests in order to confirm that we, the candidates, are fit to join this order. Before we began, however, we were required to take a series of 24-hour vows that included silence, fasting, service, and sleeping alone. This story, however, is centered on a man named Robert. He became what is known as an “elangomat,” or the person who leads us through our ordeal. Robert was evidently new to his job, as he was extremely nervous and clearly had stage fright. Many stories of the ordeal originate from this man, as he proved to be a major klutz – unprepared and scared out of his mind.
Robert also proved to be a very timid person. Many candidates spoke, breaking their vows of silence, but he had a tough time trying to control them. Robert did a poor job at preparing for our service projects, as he was not notified of the time and location. In addition to this, he also worked us candidates out to an excessive amount of 6 …show more content…
Outside the dining hall, Robert turns to the group of candidates and begins by saying, “I understand that I may have done a poor job of elangomat and I apologize to you guys for not doing as well as I should have, so I would ask that you guys raise your hands if you believe I did a poor job of elangomat.” I, along with a few other scouts, raised my hand in honesty. “Okay. Did all of you candidates at least learn something through this ordeal?” We all unanimously raised our hands. “Good, that’s what I really care