A WORD ABOUT THE QUEENS SCOUT AWARD FROM OUR LATEST RECIPIENT After finishing guides, an association I had been in for 8 years, I was ready for a small change in lifestyle and consequently joined the Scout association.  Although I made my Queen's Scout my number one priority since I started Venturers, I always had different reasons for achieving it.  In the beginning I was doing the work for all the wrong reasons, and it seemed that I only wanted the badge to prove myself better then or gain respect from my sisters and other friends in the guide association.  It has only been in the past two years that I have really discovered how much this award means to me, in becoming a better leader in both my unit and indeed the community.  Although I have completed activity badgse fairly consistently since I was 14 years old, there were various times when my Queen's Scout Award didn't look attainable.  Catching Glandular fever, school pressures, lack of motivation and other commitments led me to believe that I could only achieve my Venturer award.  As time pushed on and 1999 came around, however, I realised that there was a good chance I could finally achieve my Queen's Scout Award as I had always wanted, although I had only 9 months to complete it.  As this year has been fairly rushed with weekend after weekend of courses and community service, I am finally glad to be finished.
    Looking back, I think that my Queen's Scout was something I had to achieve in order to become a better person and thus more effectively able to serve society.  I believe that I have benefited greatly by initiating, organising and completing all of the badges myself and have gained a lot of independance doing so.  Venturers has had an immense impact on my life, and I often wonder which direction I would be heading had I not experienced what Scouts has to offer.  It's hard to believe that I started as a pure and innocent 14 year old, only to be spontaneously transformed into an outgoing and somewhat forthright adult.  The still developing wisdom that I have gained through Venturers is alos priceless, and I don't think I owe that to the Queen's Scout award alone.  The many physical, social, and mental barriers I have overcome in my four years have been a fundamental step in my personal growth.  All aspects of Venturer life, I believe, have led me to mature quiker than my peers.  Through the years, I have learnt alot about community needs by doing various voluntary service.
    Through Venturers there has been one thing that has really got to the interior of my being, and stirred my believes to utter confusion.  As Colin can well varify after the many debates and D&M's we had, my continual question of who is "God" has really got me stumped.  I have talked to Venturer leaders, school chaplain, school friends and participated in ideals course, but I still come out of it questioning the beliefs of society.  I thought it was brilliant that we visited various diverse churches, temples, the Hari Krishna and even the Shrine of Rememberance site in the city.  Many of the other Venturers present couldn't understand why I was so interested in asking everyone deep questions of life.  When I was given the topic for my debate "god is male", I instantly panicked about the thought of not completing the badge.  Nonetheless, I sucessfully completed the badge and although I haven't been able to come up with a concrete belief of who the"big man" is, I have temporarily concluded that weall have our own god and look for different things in him.  Whilst I can verify that I feel close to my God when I am in nature and away from others, I am still actively investigating and indeed dissecting everyside of the story to find the real truth of who my god is in my heart.
    Whilst determination and enthusiasim have played a big part in my badge work adventurers, I would still like to thank my parents and VL, who kept on my back and ensured my progress was consistent.  Colin, who I still made me promise not to go out with boys during Venturers, has kept my work at a standard I ca be proud of and has acted more like a brother figure than a leader.....helping me as much or as little as I wanted.  Venturers has had its good and bad moment.  Yet as a whole, I will never forget the skills and friendships made, and I will ensure that I take these on to Rovers and Scouts (as a leader).
        "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by-
        And that has made all the difference" (Frost, Robert 1874-1963).
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