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Katie Wilkes
Jan 216 min read
Thrills and Freak-outs: My First Two Weeks as an Elephant Conservation Volunteer
Photo: Taylor Johnson Mae Doom wraps the bottom half of her trunk around something greenish from between the flattened, harvested corn...
100 views

Katie Wilkes
Dec 12, 20245 min read
Taking a (Real Big) Leap: What's been Calling for 58 Weeks in a Row
The place, Phuket, Thailand. The date, November 13, 2023. We’re in the back of a passenger van and for someone who hardly gets motion...
148 views

Katie Wilkes
Nov 21, 20245 min read
Now What? Where the Waves are Taking Me Next
Between the lunges and warrior twos, one question rolled around in my mind all sixty minutes of class. So I furled up my mat, put the...
97 views

Katie Wilkes
Sep 22, 20245 min read
I love being a nomad. But here's what I miss.
It’s no secret that New Mexico is full of friendly, easy-to-talk to people. Almost everywhere I go, it’s like butter to strike up a...
106 views

Katie Wilkes
Aug 25, 20245 min read
Truths of Taos: How One Native's Courage Helped Me Re-examine My Own
The thing about shimmering lands like New Mexico—where everything feels so flowy and natural and clear around you—is that it also...
115 views

Katie Wilkes
Aug 7, 20244 min read
Curveballs: The Divine Comedy of Nomad Life
You want to get my attention, put anything with Amy Poehler on it in front of me. Pretty much never have I watched her and not cackled. ...
112 views


Katie Wilkes
Jul 1, 20245 min read
The (Very Uncomfortable) Art of Letting Go: When the Movers Lose All Your Furniture
"Your new life is gonna cost you your old one." I forget if it was around the time of a full moon or another supercharged energy portal...
289 views


Katie Wilkes
May 21, 20245 min read
Introducing: My next Great Adventure
“I mean, what we just did in there … we were never taught that in school.” Sweat dripped down my stomach as I took another glug of water,...
495 views


Katie Wilkes
Apr 22, 20246 min read
Unveiling the Power of In-Person Sisterhood: An Eye-Opening Revelation
Well hello, world. It’s so lovely to be back after a while. If I told you that for the past few months, I’ve been head down, doggedly...
174 views


Katie Wilkes
Jan 29, 20244 min read
Close Enough to Burn: What it Feels Like Playing with Fire
There’s a scene in the original Toy Story film where the troublemaker kid, Sid, positions a magnifying glass in the sunlight over Woody’s...
118 views


Katie Wilkes
Dec 31, 20234 min read
Rest, and the Rest Will Come
I played the video three times from the palm of my hand, listening to a voice tell me in twenty seconds how the strongest trees in the...
89 views


Katie Wilkes
Dec 12, 20234 min read
You ready to hear this?
Please sit still and stop quivering for just five minutes, I instructed my insides. On a sunny summer day, I sat facing the sparkling...
99 views


Katie Wilkes
Nov 24, 20238 min read
Day in the Life of an Elephant Sanctuary Volunteer
The elephants have entered the room. And there’s nothing awkward about it. I’m back stateside from a two-week stint in Thailand where my...
518 views


Katie Wilkes
Oct 23, 20234 min read
When You're Suddenly Anything but Mainstream
“But what are they gonna think?!” ← the phrase that (still) runs through my head about twenty times a day. It can even make my fingers...
122 views


Katie Wilkes
Oct 4, 20233 min read
Swallowed up in Silence
Sirens wailing. Leaf blowers roaring. Endless honking. Tree trimmer trucks. Jackhammers. Lawn mowers. The beep-beep-beep of Amazon vans...
188 views


Katie Wilkes
Sep 17, 20234 min read
Why it Pays to be Late
Stuck in gridlocked traffic, my eyes were glued to the GPS. Ten, 20 then 30 minutes creeped onto my estimated arrival time. Accident...
108 views


Katie Wilkes
Sep 1, 20234 min read
Sexy Little Thing Called Resentment
I’ve heard the sage advice to never hit publish when you’re angry. So I compromised with myself, saying, okay self. You get to write what...
121 views


Katie Wilkes
Aug 16, 20235 min read
How to Dish up a Dream Life
Welp, here I am two weeks after divulging my latest thrill. Lying in bed the other night, I thought, guess it’s not one of those...
179 views


Katie Wilkes
Jul 31, 20235 min read
A Secret (Language) Revealed
What I am about to share may freak you out. It may sound weird or over the top or cause you to roll your eyes or maybe even close out of...
747 views


Katie Wilkes
Jul 13, 20235 min read
The Place Where it Stings
I learned enough the first time to understand that getting stung doesn’t feel good. There I was, barely under three feet tall, allured by...
399 views
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