Wild Territory Was Home All Along
By Trista Galvin
This piece is from the beginning of my book-in-progress, Wild Territory. I share it here as a compass point for anyone feeling the quiet pull back to themselves. This is for the ones who sense there’s more—and are brave enough to find out.
For a long time, I saw my Wild Territory as something to be tamed.
I stuck to my checkbox life because I thought that was the only way to stay safe.
I feared what I might find if I strayed from the path I was supposed to follow.
After all, the brain is wired to seek the known—
to mistake the predictable for the safe.
But the Wild Territory was never the enemy.
Ignoring it was.
No matter how much I tried to suppress it,
it remained.
Waiting.
Calling me back.
And when I finally listened, I discovered something I never expected—
my voice had been there all along.
The Black-and-White Life
Maybe you’ve been following all the rules, checking all the boxes, hoping that will keep you safe.
Maybe you thought muted, gray living was just how life felt.
But somewhere deep down, you knew something was off.
You searched. Bought the couch. Took the vacation. Drank the wine.
Still—nothing clicked. Nothing cracked you open.
That was me too.
And then I remembered The Wizard of Oz—
that iconic moment when Dorothy opens the door, and the world bursts into technicolor.
Her dress is blue?
I realized: I’ve been living in Kansas all this time.
Insurance (Or: The Plot Twist)
When you’re trying to build a safe life, you look for insurance.
I had a stable career in the insurance industry. Safe. Dependable. Predictable.
I always got the interview. I was the safe candidate.
And then—during one interview for what seemed like the perfect job—I was asked what my dream job was.
Without hesitation, I blurted out:
“To be a therapist.”
My jaw dropped right along with the interviewer’s.
My chest flushed red. My heart pounded.
Wild Territory had entered the chat.
Mothering, Safety, and Soul Truth
I told myself I was doing this for my daughter—being safe meant being a good mom, right?
But then I had to ask myself:
Was I teaching her how to be safe… or how to disappear?
Was I showing her that being a mother meant grinding through a soul-crushing job?
Or was I ready to show her what it looked like to fly?
My Dorothy Moment
That job didn’t work out.
But maybe it wasn’t supposed to.
Maybe that moment—the honest answer I didn’t plan to say—was the house landing in Oz.
Maybe Wild Territory had been home all along.
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you been living in “black-and-white” without realizing it?
What does Wild Territory mean to you? What’s calling you toward it?
What’s one way you’ve been clinging to the safety net instead of trusting yourself?
If you were to step into Wild Territory today, what’s the first step you would take?
What’s scarier—staying in predictability, or stepping into the unknown? Why?
Tiny Challenge
This week, do one small thing that feels like stepping into the Wild Territory.
Say yes to something that scares you—
or no to something that shrinks you.
It doesn’t have to be big.
Just real.
Closing Thought
Maybe Wild Territory was never something to fear.
Maybe, just maybe,
it was home all along.