Almost all average kids could tell you that they have a place they simply enjoyed visiting; a place that they felt a part of because they experienced one of many memories in that place. I for one also had one of these spots that I could call my own, and even today I can remember why that spot was so significant to me. When I was much younger, I knew exactly where I wanted to go every weekend. Just behind my old neighborhood is a small forested area that is not too dense nor did it have many tall trees; but, it did have just enough trees to create the location of our hangout. The smell of the trees there prevailed around the entire neighborhood; it was in fact a very refreshing and enjoyable scent. Also, the birds and the squirrels could always been seen all over the forest happily taking care of their own business. I always felt that the forest was the best place to enjoy the outdoors because of how natural the surroundings were, and because of how peaceful it always seemed to be. One day, a couple of my closest friends and I decided that we would set up a place to hang out in the forest, where nobody else could enter unless they knew the way there; and obviously, the magic password. We began to create this hangout by first setting up our so called ‘traps’ for outside invaders, followed by a resting area within our hangout. While we were making this idea become reality I felt that this idea would be great because not only would I be able to enjoy relaxing in the forest, but also, I would also have a spot that I could visit to do whatever I wanted. Soon enough we found a few quality rock chairs and beds, and the hangout began to look like an actual place to sit or lay down in peace. Sone of us added our own personal touches by adding a little part of ourselves into it to make the place seem more inviting. I for one decided to add in a bird feeder; I loved filling it whenever I went there. For anyone our age, this became the best idea ever. Soon enough, other people started to hear about our newly created utopia; and really wanted to join, which became a catastrophe. What initially started out as a way for a few really close friends to have fun at a place they could call their own, soon became a place tainted with people that really were not welcome. Wherever we looked, all we could see were several kids playing where we once used to play and relax, and we felt really disheartened. Unfortunately, some people were bypassing our ‘intricate security system,’ so we had no other option but to abandon our location and return to our neighborhood and find something else to do. Days went by, and we began to meet up at the park in the center of the development trying to find something to do with little success. Soon after, weeks had gone by—still no progress. Our secret escape became infested with people who had no sentimental value for it. But then, my brother came up with an idea. My brother suggested that we forget about the old hang out location and make a new one that was twice as good. This way, they would all abandon our old location, and move to the new one, solving all our problems. It seemed easier said than done. For the next few days, we all worked together to find a new location on the other side of the development behind a few houses where there were a few trees, and soon we got to work, In order for our plan to be successful we needed to make sure that the place was desirable. We began to climb high in the trees and tie pieces of string as high as we could as a challenge for other kids. The challenge was simple; you had to climb the tree as high as possible and tie a string once you got to the highest point you were able to. We also arranged a few large rocks as chairs, so people could relax similar to our original location. The last step was to spread the word. To our surprise, it did not take much effort because we kept telling everyone about the tree challenge, and how we thought that nobody could climb higher to appeal to the ego of the other kids. Within a few days all the other kids were using the new location as their ‘escape.’ We returned to our original location and were extremely excited to be able to reclaim our spot. We were so proud of our efforts. The other kids were so occupied by challenge to reach higher heights. We didn’t expect them to try for so long, but we were content. We began to restore our escape and build upon it once again; we even worked to improve it. It just goes to show that hard work pays off. But that didn’t matter to us! We were just happy to have our escape from the rest of the world back. Today, when I visit the forested area by my old house, I still see the arrangement of the rocks unchanged, but the traps and other security devices no longer remain. The challenge tree is still filled with short pieces of red and white yarn. Those were the best days of my life; that part of my past would not have been as lively if we lost hope. Never lose hope—it can lead to great success.