My camp

This is a story about the heart. I was 12 years old and part of the Boy Scouts. We were at a campout with multiple scout troops from the area. I want to make one thing clear.... I didn't go to these camp outs to meet people, make friends, or even do Boy Scout things.... I went because I had to, I already had friends, and we stuck together. After a full day of games, Boy Scout bonding events, and setting up camp... We went to a park for fireworks. We played football under the bursts of lights. Then the craziest, most pathetic thing happened. Another kid, a stranger, obviously with some type of disability tried to play with us. No. Not happening. That's not fun. There's no competition in including him. So it turned into a game of keep away. From him. Remember, I didn't need new friends. I was cool. We were cool. We had to show him what it's like to to look cool. This lasted for a good 20 min. Hiding from him, teasing him, just boasting out dominance. By the end... He was in tears. The fireworks ended. We left. Nobody mentioned our actions that night. It was on to roasting marshmallows and playing cards. But I couldn't forget his face. 

The next day I told my mom what I had done. I wanted to contact that kid. I didn't even know who he was, but with the help of my scout master... I found him. I called him, through my tears... I apologized. It wasn't enough but it was all a 12 year old could do. 

This isn't a story about how good of a person I am, how I learned from being an ass, or even about how I did the right thing. This is a story about realizing my own heart. I went into that campout as a 12 year old who had everything. I never needed a friend. I never worried about fitting in. Then I realized sometime between the rockets red glare and camp fire stories... That I was weak. That I was the reason that kid had no friends. I realized how every single one of my choices affects someone else. I came to know how the heart works. No matter how much I rebel or how much I put on a bad boy persona.... I hated that I could hurt someone. My heart showed its depth. My heart never left that campout. It still hasn't.