I pull into the driveway, turn off the engine, get outand lock the doors. I glance at my watch and realize I'm a few minutesearly for my curfew. It's a clear night and I have time left for myself.I take a deep breath and stare upward. This is the perfect time toindulge in my secret passion, stargazing.

My love for clear,starry nights began when my sixth grade science class studied theconstellations. Before that, I was lucky if I could pick out the BigDipper from the huge mess of specks in the sky, but the more I learnedabout astronomy, the more interested I became.

My teacher passedout a chart that rotated, showing the position of the stars at varioustimes of night, in any season. Almost every night I rotated it to theright date and time before I went outside to look up. I became adept atfinding constellations and my love for the stars grew.

Stargazingbrings me peace. After a long day, I can sit and wonder at the sky toclear my mind of burdens. The huge, black sky and the stillness of thenight have a soothing effect. Scorpio, Orion, Leo, Cassiopeia are allspecial to me; they are living reminders of myths of the past.

Irarely share this hobby, though a few people I am close to know aboutit. One night my brother saw me sitting on the front steps. He cameoutside and asked, "Hey, is everything all right? What are youdoing out here?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just looking atthe stars. Look at the three bright ones in a row right there. That'sOrion's belt," I replied, pointing to the constellation.

Iwatched my brother's eyes; he smiled when he found the stars. He startedto ask more questions. Now he joins me sometimes. I love showing himwhat I know, because all my life I have tried to impress my big brother.For once, I have something to teach him.

Last year I went to asecluded lake in New Hampshire with two of my closest friends. The starswere amazingly bright, and the three of us just lay on our backs andstared up all night, talking about relationships and life. Rob talkedabout his family, Kristin about her last boyfriend and I shared what Iknew about the stars. They had both known me for years, but neither wereaware of my stargazing.

The serene stars are always there for me.Even on a cloudy night, I know that, behind the clouds, the sky isfilled with light. When I need to relax, I can always look to the stars.