Writing from Memories

One of the main reasons why I love to read and write is because I get to become someone else. I jump right into the characters' lives as if I'm them. Well, maybe I'm feeling nostalgic but I realized that given the opportunity, I'd totally go back in time and relive different moments from my teen years.

I thought about the memories that mean the most to me, and something hit me. I do relive my teen years. In my own writing, I'm constantly recreating moments that actually happened in my life. My middle grade novel takes place primarily inside a forest. Why? I lived on a mountain when I was growing up and there were woods and the Appalachian Trail running up and down the mountain. My friends and I would go exploring all the time, discovering small lakes and climbing up rock cliffs. I loved it. Well guess what? My characters did that stuff, too. Of course their memories aren't so nice since I sort of put them through hell in those woods.

But I want to know, do you incorporate your own memories in your writing? Which events or settings do you use because they were important to you when you were growing up?