The first thing I thought of after reading the challenge was "circle of life". The most optimistic phase of that is childhood, and I feel this photo represents that well while including a subtle hint of the gloominess that lies ahead in the circle of life.
Statistics
Place: 498 out of 545 Avg (all users): 4.0235 Avg (commenters): 4.3333 Avg (participants): 3.9006 Avg (non-participants): 4.1890 Views since voting: 723 Views during voting: 360 Votes: 298 Comments: 7 Favorites: 0