Everyone has moments that stick out in their mind whether they were positive or negative experiences. People can often remember the feelings they felt in those situations too. I have several memories in my mind that I can never forget because I look back on them and remember feeling either happy, sad, angry, excited and so on. The happiest memory I have is when I traveled to Spain and Morocco for spring break with my dad, my two sisters, my dad’s girlfriend and her three sons. I think about this eventful trip because I wish I could go back in time and experience it all again.

We left on an early April morning for our trip to Spain and after a week in Spain  we planned to go to Morocco. There was a total of eight of us and we all traveled together which made things pretty hard and frequent arguments occurred often. When we finally arrived in Spain after an uncomfortably long flight, the eight of us piled into a huge SUV and drove to our family friend’s house where we would be staying for the next week. Getting to stay in a close friend of the family’s  home who lived there and knew the local areas made the trip more authentic because I got to see what an everyday life is like in that country. We were all so jet lagged and hungry, and the complaints began, only to get yelled at by my irritated father. We slept in the next day, then instantly began seeing around the exquisite country. Within a week we saw mosques, museums, an old castle, and even the Real Madrid soccer stadium. I remember how my dad’s girlfriend Estella was an awful navigator and we got lost several times, which may have been bothersome in the moment, but looking back on it, it was one a fun part of the trip. A key factor to this trip that set it apart from others, was that none of us had ever been to Spain or Morocco before, so we all experienced new things and went on an adventure together, which we all apprecitated more.
                

The second part of our trip, we went to Morocco in northern Africa. It was without a doubt the most awe-inspiring, unique place I have ever visited and I am so happy that I got to see it with people I love. We did countless things in Morocco such as touring a small beach village and trying traditional Moroccan food. One day we went to a small, secluded beach about thirty minutes away from where we were staying. When we arrived, it was sunny and warm, but comfortably breezy. On this beach were seven large, brown camels for us to ride down the beach. My sister Emma and I shared one, and once everyone got on their camel we took a leisurely ride down the beach. Although it was somewhat scary being on the back of a camel four times the size of me, it was worth it for the experience. Morocco was a completely different culture there than it is in America. There were curfews where we went due to religious reasons which was a weird change because in America there are all different religions, so not everyone needs to abide by the same guidelines. The society was set up by social classes in an old fashioned way, and i noticed there were either small villages where most people lived, but then huge, breathtaking mansions where the wealthy lived. I really enjoyed the culture change but i do not think I could live there.
            

While the different places we saw, different foods we tried, and different activities we experienced were cool in both places, the trip would not have been the same if I had not experienced it with the seven other people that I went with. Estella’s sons, Jonathan, Jules and Jacob, are all older than me, and  I always wanted an older brother, but somehow luckily ended up with three. They made me feel comfortable on the trip and made me feel safe everywhere we went. My sisters are my best friends, and I love that when we grow up, we can talk about this trip and the memories we got to make together. With three boys and three girls, all teenagers, we had an instant party wherever we went. Estella is a confident, carefree woman who can make anyone around her smile. She radiates beauty from within and is one of the best role models in my life. I love Estella because she was like a second mother to me, but we always joke that she is the fourth daughter because she has such a young and free spirit.  My dad organized the whole trip and made it fun because of how laid back and adventurous he is. Seeing my dad truly happy with Estella and seeing all of us kids getting along made me content because he had just gotten divorced from my mother and finally found someone to love again. I realized that new experiences and positive memories are made when you're with people who love and can be yourself with.
                  

Two things I feel passion for are traveling to new places and being with people who have a genuienly positive influence on my life, so naturally nothing else could top this vacation. I hope one day I can experience a trip or memory as great and crazy as this one so that I can look back when I’m old enough to bring my children to cool places and tell them all about my past experiences. From this, I can conclude that i chose this as my happiest memory because of the people i was with.