Venturing is a program under the Boy Scouts of America that focuses on character development and adventure for young adult ages 14 to 21. Unlike the BSA, however, Venturing brings a lot more opportunities for its members than regular scouts. But even more so, it gives you a unique experience that nothing else will bring in your life; so here are the five reasons to join the Venturing program:

1. Adventures

Venturing expands the possibilities of what adventures you can explore. On one day, you could be hiking in the Appalachian mountains; the next day, you could be whitewater rafting or scuba diving or horseback riding or small-boat sailing. Most of the outings your crew decides to take are proposed and planned by the venturers who want to do something fun.

For my crew, we have gone hiking numerous times at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM and sailed the seas in the Bahamas Sea Base in Nassau, Bahamas. Along with that, we also backpack in the Appalachians, canoe in several lakes, and even just play board games in the forest (not every outing needs to be adrenaline-rushing). We plan out each outing, with consideration to logistics by the adult advisors, and just do it.

Although we do sometimes trip on doing certain things durin these adventures, we get back up, learn our mistakes, and laugh it off as we keep moing forawrd. Our top priority is not learning fundamental camping techniques in a rigid schedule; it's to have fun.

2. Meet New People

When you go visit a local venture crew, you will get to meet people that you may never have seen in your school, your classes, or any of your club, but they will be joyful, enthusiastic, and welcoming to you. When I first joined my crew a couple of years ago, I was introduced to many interesting people who wanted to enjoy life and break free from the stress that high school brings. As a result, I was able to do the same by going on campouts and hanging out with them.

3. Relaxation

High school is stressful; you have to maintain several classes (maybe honors and AP), clubs,and sports on top of college applications, making anyone, without any breaks, go mad . Venturing allows you to step out of all that and take a breath of fresh air. You can put those worries aside and just go out on an adventure or meet with your friends at crew meetings.You can fully utilize your free time to destress yourself from your work and relax in a detached environment from social expectations.

For my crew, each meeting, we discuss our outings planned and then have a game or activity to just enjoy ourselves and do what we want to do. At outings, we just temporarily forget about our social norms and just be ourselves without any judgement or hate.

4. Flexibility

While Venturing is a part of Boy Scouts of America, with scouting having a more rigid structure of events and lessons on camping, it does allow movement to choose when you want to do any activity, even have meetings. Boys Scouts normally have weekly meetings, with attendance influencing your chances of becoming Eagle; Venturing allows its members to choose their meeting dates and frequency of it per month. My crew, for example, has monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of the month.

This isn't restricted to just time. Venturers can choose to prioritize what area of skills seem important to that crew, and each crew is different in its main activities, structures, and personalities. Like one crew may be focused on advancement (yes, Venturing does have advancement) and another may be focused on music.

You aren't confined to certain activities that may become tedious and unappealing. Venturing embodies dynamics in its values per crew, as it is set up as a youth-led unit, so you can keep having backpacking trips, or you can switch things up and have a road trip to a landmark. It is up to you.

5. Coming Together as a Family

Being in a venture crew is radically different from being in a boy scout troop or a regular academic club. You get to bond with your crew, get to be yourself with them, and get to forget about the stress that life puts on you with your friends. This is especially true when you go on outings with them because many of them will show a side of them that you would not normally see in even at a crew meeting. As a result, you get to understand them more and depend on them for certain things during the outings like on a week-long hike or a regular campout. You get to have the authentic feeling of freedom and joy just being alongside people that will help you when you are down.