Favorite Place.

I had to write a descriptive essay for my English class on my favorite place.
I thought I'd share.

“When I look at the stars, … I feel like myself” - Switchfoot. Anytime I am looking at the stars, an overwhelming feeling of serenity and self-recognition flows through me. Although I must say, being at a place I love with my friends, while looking at the stars produce some of the most memorable moments of my life. My place, my escape, is a dock at a summer camp I work at. Being at the dock at night is my favorite place, looking at the stars there just takes me to a whole other place where everything feels right.
It’s a Sunday night, the campers are finally nestled in their sleeping bags all around camp after an evening of laughter and staff introductions. A couple of friends and I decide to take a trip down to fire bowl where the dock is. We head out on the trail through the woods and we come to a clearing. We are standing on a hill, looking down we see the stadium seating which was earlier filled with rowdy campers waiting for their camp experience to begin. Walking down the middle gravel aisle to the bottom of the hill there are two fire pits, that are still crackling and popping from the ceremony just a few hours earlier. The smoke lingering is visible in the moonlight and a blanket of fog is drawn over the lake. Finally we come to the edge of the ground, where the lake takes over, and there is the dock.
The dock is only a small square on a massive lake. Most people don't pay attention to this dock with the rest of the breath taking scene around them. Although, once you are laying on your back, face up, looking at the fire-fly filled sky, the rest of the scene escapes. The beautiful sky acts as a canvas in which a wonderful painter has placed His brush for our benefit. The only thing that catches my eye are the constellations and the stars above me, and how amazing all of it really is.
For the longest time, my friends and I don’t speak. As I’m laying on my back, the sound of the wind blowing through the trees is comforting. I’m surrounded by nature in all it’s wonder and glory with the people I love. This place is beautiful. I breathe in a waft of smoke from the smoldering fire and sigh. That is one of my favorite smells; the smell of a fire dying down. I sit up to take a look around and I can’t get away from the stars. The lake is glistening with the reflection of the stars and the moon, I feel peace within myself. My feelings of stress have subsided and I am left with this calmness.
I lay back down and then I see the random passing of a shooting star. I hear my friends, “Oh! Did you see that one??.” “Make a wish!”. I close my eyes and make my wish. I’m beginning to feel the dampness that the morning dew brings, but it doesn’t bother me. I place my arms under my head and cross my legs and smile. My friends and I laugh together, as we do almost every time after we wish on a shooting star, and it never gets old.
I think to myself, how amazing is it that this one place can make everything feel right. When the night draws to an end and we are heading back, I turn around for one last glimpse as my friends walk ahead of me. “I’ll be back tomorrow”, I whisper as I turn and walk away.