The people around us make experiences great and unforgettable. I was oblivious to this fact before

This was quite an experience physically, and emotionally for me. Although my neighbors and I have gone on countless trips together, this one was different. I got up the first morning of spring break and my mom said: “pack your bags we’re going to Florida!” I wasn’t sure

I came towards the end of their summer program so classes had pretty much been wrapped up and we just played games from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This specific location has about 200 participants ranging in age from 6 to 15. I was extremely intimidated walking into a room full of so many hyper kids, but quickly learned to embrace them for who they are. Each child had a different story, and while I wasn’t able to interact with every single one, there are a few that stuck out to me.

When the word “vacation” is mentioned, everyone instantly thinks of a great time. There are no classes, no work, no chores, and most importantly, no worries. However, this isn’t always the case, especially with my family. We decided to set out on an adventure to Virginia Beach this past April. The events that took place were benign but, the trip itself was a little bit of a struggle due to the chain of unpredictable events.

In this activity, we were in a line from shortest to tallest, and were blindfolded, holding each other's shoulders. Then, or counselor went in front of us, and lead us somewhere. For example, when the person in front of me went right, they would say right so I would know a right turn was coming. Then when I felt us going right, I would yell right to the person behind me, and so on. My favorite part about it, was when we were done, and she explained all the crazy places we went. Also, I really enjoyed snorkeling, Because I had never gone snorkeling before. I loved how we could breathe underwater, so we could focus on all the beautiful shells, fish, and

My mom and dad have always told me to do what makes me happy, and worry less about the cost. Ever since I was ten years old, my family has decided to take a vacation every year right before school starts. We have been to Disney, on two Caribbean cruises, and Mexico twice. I realize now that it was one of the smartest decisions my parents could have made for us kids. Growing up and being able to see places such as Aruba, Florida, and Lake Houses in Wisconsin is something that I will always be grateful for; visiting these places has taught me that there is so much more that comes with vacationing besides having

It was an annual tradition for my dad’s side of the family to get together at this campground over Fourth-of-July weekend. All of the cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even some friends would be there. I was only eleven and it was a special year because I got to bring my friend Rachelle with me on this trip. We planned on swimming in the lake, tubing behind the boat, fishing, and playing yard games like bean bags and ladder-ball. Tubing was my favorite. There was no better feeling than the rush of falling off and bouncing across the water like a skipping stone.

I grew up as an older sibiling who really had no one to express myself with. There are kids who live in secluded areas or just don't have the social skills to find other friends. Organized activites changed my perspective as a young child on how to actually have fun with my other peers. I personally liked playing basketball and was quite decent at the sport, I quickly developed friends who enjoyed the sport as much as I did. After awhile I started hanging out with a variety of different kids who were mutual friends between my friends and I.

Have you ever been on a vacation? Although I have not been on an enormous amount of vacations, but I have been on a few. Of the four to five vacations I have been on, the most favorable trip I have ever been on was when I was seven years old and my family went to Colorado. There, we explored the nearby towns, went dirt-biking, went on a train, and had some mishaps. We also stopped at some amazing places on the way there, including a huge museum in Kansas City.

When I was about 10 years old my family and I took a vacation to Florida to see my great aunt Linda. It was a 14 hour drive down to Florida which is a long time in the car. We were going down there for a week. For the first two days we went to Sea World in Orlando, Florida. I was very excited to see my great aunt because I have never met her before. I knew that I was going to have fun on this trip.

When I was a kid I had lots of fun. I had my sister to play with. Veterans Memorial Park was one of the many places we liked to go. I liked to play many games.

My Destination experience inspired me to not let my friends stop me from doing something that I want to do. For example, if I wanted to go play soccer but my friends did not want to, I would still go play soccer because that is what I wanted to do. I try to remember

We stopped cruising for a year in American Samoa and my new friends at the high-school I attended welcomed me into the community. I met a young Filipino boy, who became my first boyfriend. I introduced him to my hobby of geocaching, a form of Easter egg hunt where one uses a GPS to locate hidden treasures around the

When I was in eighth grade I went on my first trip out of the country to Nassau, Bahamas. Going on this trip was one of the most exciting and unforgettable times of my life. Not only was it a fun experience, it was also the first time I realized that I love traveling. While there I was lucky enough to visit many places, such as Blue Lagoon Island and the beautiful Atlantis Resort, and immerse myself in the Bahamian culture. My time in The Bahamas was not my only great memory from that trip. The journey to get to The Bahamas itself was also quite interesting.

As a child I was lucky enough to have this experience with my family but I may not have had this opportunity if it wasn 't for growing up in the middle class. Vacations are very expensive, especially when they are only a week long and families spend thousands of dollars on them. That would be a lot of extra money for families to come up with, especially families who aren 't in the higher low class or middle class and "annual income per adult averages between $18,000-$30,000 per year."(Cliffsnotes) Not having those vacation experiences would be a huge loss and I wouldn’t have had some of my best childhood experiences with my family.

There are certain memories that we have that we can remember like they happened yesterday. Many of those memories that have special meaning to me were of family vacations when I was young growing up with my brothers and sisters. Family memories are important to many of us because they take us back to a time or place that was special. One particular family vacation I remember vividly, and it’s a story I have shared with my kids on many occasions. Over the 40 or more years since that memorable vacation, I still smile and think how lucky I was growing up with a mother and father that did everything to give their kids an unforgettable memory.