Journal Entry #10 "Why I Need Wild"

Wednesday, April 21, 2026

I need wild because it keeps me sane. Even if it is just a mile walk outside, feeling the sunshine and breathing in fresh air helps ground me. It helps connect me to myself and to this natural world, instead of everything that is going on in my life. As a person going into medicine, I tend to look at things in how they affect my physical or mental wellbeing. Nature heals, and I believe that it can help both me and the patients I serve. When I am outside, I tend to be calmer, more focused on the present time and moment, and my body just feels more at ease. 

In my future, I see myself especially using nature as a sanctuary. Nursing can be difficult on the mind, but spending time in the outdoors helps me reflect and slow down. I am lucky that when I go home to visit my family, I am going to a place that feels outdoorsy to me, and sort of like a sanctuary. I enjoy the time hiking or on a lake with my family, it brings me back to my inner peace.

But talking about just how it benefits me seems selfish. I need wild because we as an earth need wild. Just like the Before the Flood documentary states, we need to protect our natural environments before it is too late, and we have made places completely unhabitual for any form of life. We are the sole reasons for destruction to the planet, and we owe it to all other species that we will live with to try to keep and restore as much we possibly can. 

Below are two of my favorite pictures of the great outdoors.




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