Meet Neriah

I joined Team Wilderness in the middle of my seventh grade year. Coming back from quarantine was hard and I didn’t really get outside much. I also hadn’t been in a school setting in over a year. Everyone knows how awkward it is to be 12, still figuring things out, especially for me since my previous school year had been on a screen.

I started off with Team Wilderness in their photography program. Once a week I would go to photo club. We took lots of pictures and experimented with the cameras. There were a whole bunch of teens, my age interested about the same thing as me: cameras. Having so many interesting teens around me with the same interest as me made me feel really happy.  I started to really look forward to photo club each week because of this and because I got to go outside. We went on a lot of fun and interesting hikes, I saw so many beautiful things and got to take pictures of them. We learned a lot about cameras and the way they function. Like using manual settings to blur a moving object in a shot. We would do this with flowers or leaves blowing from the wind.

 My first hike was on January 22, 2022 and it was definitely one of my favorites. It was freezing. We hiked to a waterfall and could hear the water, but when we got closer we noticed that the waterfall was frozen and that the water we were hearing was behind the ice. We all put our ears to the ice to hear the water. It was breathtakingly beautiful. That was the day I found my love for nature. 

Another amazing part of the program are the galleries where we get to share our pictures and have an opportunity to sell them! My first gallery was nerve wracking but I was so excited when I sold my first picture. Coming into my freshman year I felt very confident and pretty well rounded socially, but at the same time I was kinda stressed and had some problems. I wanted to talk to someone about them so I joined Team Wilderness’ North Star program that provides therapy. My therapist has helped me in so many ways throughout my personal life, and managing both school and work. I receive a lot of self assurance through my therapist and I’ve learned how to take care of myself better and giving more time to myself. It’s even helped with things more deeply personal.

To sum it all up Team Wilderness is an extra home for me. I learn so much through them, whether it’s about cameras, communicating with others my age, or enjoying nature.