It was the middle of the summer after fifth grade, like many I was lost, scared, and excited about the big transition to sixth grade that we all had to make.  We were finally out of elementary school, and now we are big kids ready to begin shaping our lives for the years to come; and that’s what scared me the most, the independence I was now acquiring and my lack of knowledge on what to do with it and where I would want to go and the painful struggles I would have to endure along the way.

Early one warm beautiful Tuesday morning; my older brother, Michael, came into my room to wake me up and immediately, I knew something was different about that day, he was not his usual goofball self he had a look in his eyes that he had seen something greater than himself.  Even when he looked straight into my eyes it seemed as he was looking past me as if I was translucent.  He had not said a word yet his look pierced my soul and captivated my attention.  He sat at the foot of my bed and began to look out my window and he exclaimed, "Jack... Today, we are going on a journey."  He said it in a way that made it seem like I had no other option but to partake in this journey with him, and the truth was I had no other option.  It was early and I was exhausted.  I did not want to move from my warm cozy cocoon I have created in my own bed, but seemingly against my own will I got out of my bed and got dressed.  I was intrigued because my brother was being very ominous.  I tried to mentally prepare myself for something that was impossible to prepare for.

  As we were leaving the house sat down to tie my shoes and Michael said, "Don't put them on." I asked, "Why not?" He swiftly replied, "In time you'll understand."  I believed him, so without further question I followed him through our familiar neighborhood to an unfamiliar long dirt road.  As we walk down this road the noises of the busy human world seem to vanish and boldly change into the beautiful music of the outside world with the birds singing and the trees whispering to each other.  But as the beauty of the number of trees and bushes increased, so did the number of stones digging into my unprotected feet.  As we reached the end of this long road I stopped and my brother continued a few steps further and turned to me and asked, "Well?" Confused I replied, "Well what? We reached the end of the road there is no where else to go from here."  And then Michael stated, "You're correct we have reached the end of the road, the road that so many have gone down before. Now it's time for you to create your own path."  He then pointed towards the vast forest.  Without hesitation I began my own journey into the dense woodland.

  I was amazed by the beauty of the skyscraper like trees and their diversity in shapes and color, And not only the trees but the beauty hidden in the brown rolling hills and the several different kinds of bushes and vines some had thorns some had berries some had both.  I was paralyzed by the beauty in the almost fairytale like forest, it was so vast I had no clue where to begin.  Michael asked me, "Where would you like to go?"  I didn't have a thought in my head until I laid my eyes on it.  There was a large hill in the distance that was glowing from a clearing in the tops of the trees that let a godly beam of light in.  So I pointed to it and said, "I want to go there!" Michael replied, "Wonderful choice, it looks awesome! Jack now you have to lead the way to the destination you have chosen yourself I cannot help you."  I gave him a nod to show my understanding and I walk past him to take charge.

  As I make my way down this long path I have made for myself I have come to realize it is not as easy as I had first assumed, It is hot and muggy out now and my feet are throbbing and aching by the relentless pricks and scratches produced by the twigs and thorns scattered across the forest floor.  I continue walking but very slowly and with my head down trying to avoid every little twig until Michael said, "Jack if you try to avoid every tiny twig you're never going to get where you want to go because they are everywhere and if you walk with your head down you're missing the beauty of the forest, you need to learn to live with the little problems because they will never change and keep your head up so you can keep your eyes on where you want to go and enjoy the beauty around you and so you can try to avoid the big problems before they come."  So I listened to his wisdom and charged forward through the woods with a new found positivity and vigor in my heart and with my eyes on the prize, but not forgetting to enjoy the little things around me.

  I found myself making my way across several fallen trees covered with toadstools occasionally hopping from one to another.  When the fallen trees ended I decided to jump on a soft mound of dirt that stood in between me and the base of the hill I wished to climb to get to my Utopia.  When my feet crashed into that small mound I knew I had made a grave mistake by not thinking before I acted.  The mound turned out to be a large red anthill; they immediately barraged my feet and legs with stings and bites.  It felt like I was standing in a roaring fire.  I sprinted away from it smacking my feet and legs trying to get the little devils off of me; once I had succeeded I sat down on a rock and began to cry. "I want to go home now!"  I cried out loud to my brother, he replied, "I understand you are in pain but we have made it too far to turn back now, Trust me if we go back now we would have accomplished nothing and you will be very disappointed.  But if you continue through the pain your reward will be even greater then you can imagine!"  He had never steered me in the wrong direction before so again I trusted him.

      I stood up wiped the tears from my eyes and said, "Let's go, I’ll race you to the top!"  He was shocked by my positivity at first then he was proud and happy because of it.  We smiled at each other and began running up the hill both of us not actually caring who would make it to the top first just happy we were racing together.

  When we made it to the top we both were stunned by the view, you could see for miles in every direction.  We even saw a family of playful deer prancing carelessly and worry free by a sparkling river cutting through the forest and the trees and bushes seemed to glow the most vibrant shade of green my eyes have ever seen and there I had forgotten all the pain I had previously experienced to get there, And I was overwhelmingly blissful.  I took a step back and felt something cool and soft and between my toes I looked down to see a large carpet of moss covering the top of the hill and I decided to lay back and take a deep breath it felt like I was laying on a cloud.

  I was laying on that Moss looking up at the clouds through the window like clearing in the tops of the trees when I realized the meaning of life and why my brother took me on that journey.  Life is a long journey, there are many paths in life, Life is full of pain, Life is full of obstacles, and life is filled with beauty, but you must always set goals in life or you will go nowhere and no matter how many obstacles or how much pain you go through you must always stay positive and happy and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and learn from your mistakes and the thorns so you can enjoy your own patch of the moss.