Nature is a boy’s best friend—that’s the phrase sophomore Will Pointer lives by. 

Will adores adventure. More specifically, the adventure hidden behind a pencil and paper with his favorite inspiration source by his side: nature. 

Within nature, Will finds audacious opportunities that allow him to explore. He is a risk-taker; the risks he takes in the wilderness uncover new sources of pastime in the woods.

For instance, one time, Will and his friend found a gargantuan rope swing on a hill in the midst of the forest. Will, being the adventurer he is, had an idea. 

“I hung from what was basically a long rope and a stick,” Will said, “and [I] swung [from it], but once it stopped swinging, I was just kind of stuck hanging twenty feet above trees and rocks, while my friend just laughed and did nothing to retrieve me from near death.”

Nature provides Will with these creative ways of having fun—like his rope swing experience—that allow him to explore and learn. With the encouragement of nature itself, Will takes risks not just physically, but mentally as well, especially so within his second love aside from nature: writing. 

To Will, nature and writing come hand-in-hand; he has no hesitation in snatching a pencil and paper every time an idea pops into his mind. Unexpectedly, his passion for conducting fictional stories developed towards the beginning of the school year with a single peer and a book.

“I think I first became interested in writing when I read this book of poems with a friend,” Will said, “and we both just decided that we were going to start writing some of our own [stories] because we needed some for a class project. But then, it turned into just a creative outlet I guess, and we’ve been writing since then.”

Will’s trigger for writing has stayed side-by-side with him, continuously finding new sources of inspiration as he marches through his sophomore year. Now, Will doesn’t interpret writing as a chore, but rather a hobby. To take away from the weight of school, Will loves writing mostly poems for a factor of distraction but also for his personal enjoyment. 

“Writing [is] just [so] peaceful,” Will said. “It’s just nice to relax [and] go on bike rides with friends, and just being outside and hanging out is so stress relieving after school.”

Aside from school and writing, during his free time, Will enjoys spending time with his family. Of his three sisters,  he shares the most similarities with his sister Amelia, a senior at FHC this year. Their likeness is apparent in their shared passion for long car rides and horror movies.

“We’re the same people,” Will said, “just in different fonts.”

However, despite the countless music-blasting car rides and horrifyingly good movies, Will always resorts back to writing in and about nature; the one that overrides all and the one that brings him the most comfort will always act as his constant.

Writing in nature is the perfect set-up for Will when he finds himself bored. Subsequently, his motivation to write, and his prior motivation to even take on writing, comes from the beauty and majesty of his favorite environment.

“I mean, the outside and nature is something that motivates me to write,” Will said, “because that’s what I base a lot of [my] poems on.”

Will’s adoration for the wilderness has allowed him to discover, explore, and educate himself from experiences. Nature and the outside world has given him the qualities of an adventurer: brave, determined, and curious.

“I like how [nature] is constantly changing,” Will said, “so it’s not the same every day and how it’s all just so simple and intertwined with everything. So it’s just kind of cool to just be in it and observe.”

Will’s love for nature and passion for writing is growing stronger every day as he continues to grow. Being a high schooler, it’s crucial to live up the teenage years, and this is how Will has chosen to soak up these sacred years of his life.

For Will, his safe spot lies within mother nature’s hands and within his writing utensil. 

“I love it so much,” Will said, “because it’s like an outlet, and it’s also therapeutic.”