Every summer I go to the happiest place on Earth, in my mind at least. Now you might be thinking Disney Land but for me it’s Susak, Croatia. Now many people have never heard about this island because the population is nearly 100 people. This island is one of the smallest in the country. Even though this island is so small, it brings me to my happiest place. Within the island there are many places to jump off into the water; this was one of my biggest fears at the time.

I started going to Croatia 6 years ago every summer. When my mom told me in 4th grade that we were going to Croatia for the summer I was so happy. I wanted to be in the hot blazing sun, I wanted to be able to smell the ocean water, and I wanted to spend quality time with my family. As I got older Croatia got more and more fun because I had more freedom and was able to explore more.

In the summer of 2015 I conquered many fears. In Susak there is a huge ocean and there are also boats and cliffs you can jump off. I decided that I didn’t want to be scared anymore and I wanted to have fun, so I went on a hike and decided to go jump off the cliffs. There are seven cliffs, of course the first is the smallest and the seventh is the highest. I wanted to jump off all of them. But right below the cliffs is the beautiful crystal clear water, but only with rocks at the bottom. The seventh and fifth cliff is the most dangerous because there are rocks right below and if you don’t jump out far enough you can hit a rock. So as I approached each cliff I was getting more scared and nervous. The first four cliffs were easy because there were no rocks underneath and then I got to the fifth cliff.  I walked to the edge cliff and looked down. I could hear my heart beating so quickly and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach but I realized I’m almost done so I have to jump. So I walked to the end and jumped off as far as I could. That wasn’t good enough. I hit my foot on the edge of a rock and my mom practically had a heart attack so she wouldn’t let me jump off the next two cliffs, I didn’t care though because I was happy I was able to jump off the cliffs that I never had the courage to. This was just the begging of conquering my fears.

The next day I still felt the thrill of jumping off the cliffs into the water. Then while I was swimming I saw a big boat in the distance called The Vasa. This boat was so tall and at the top of the ship they allowed people to jump off the tip into the water. I suddenly see all my friends running towards the ship wanting to jump off. I was always scared to do this because I didn’t want to fall the wrong way and get hurt. But I remembered the thrill from the day before and I realized I had to do it. So I run towards the ship with my friends and they all start jumping, we heard the boats horn and that means its getting read to leave. The workers took the ropes off from the dock and they were getting ready to back out and leave the island. I had no choice, now I had to jump. So I once again walked towards the end and all my friends were yelling at me to jump and that I could go. So I didn’t even think about I jumped off and hit the water, it was one of the best feeling in the world. I was so happy how much I accomplished in just two days that I was afraid of for four years.

The next week my friends and I wanted to go on an adventure so we decided to go the lighthouse and the army house. The walk to the lighthouse was on the way to the army house so we figured we would just do it in one day. This was going to be a long hike. We packed up our backpacks with tons of water, food, and spray cans. As we were hiking up the mountain we were seeing the most beautiful views of Susak. When we reached the lighthouse we set down our stuff and went inside. We climbed all the way to the top and were able to see Susak at one of its highest points. We saw the boats docking, the people walking, and people swimming. This was truly the most beautiful sight in the world. We then started to walk again and go to the army house. As we approached the old building it was dirty, dust, garbage, all across the floors, and plants almost everywhere. In the army house everyone spray paints their names on the walls to leave their mark in Susak. So my mom found a wall and we started to spray paint I then saw “Brooke ’09 ’11 ’12 ‘14” I remembered doing that almost every summer. So I added 2015 to the wall. This building was my memories of the fun I had in that island.

Each and every place in Susak reminds me of the great memories I had. Whenever I see The Vasa or the cliffs I remembering conquering my fears and jumping off the cliffs. Whenever I go back to the army house I see my name and the years I’ve been there. When I am older and with my children I will bring them back to these places and tell them about the memories I made and how I left my mark in Susak, Croatia.