1 . I’ve reached the turn-around point of the day’s kayaking (皮划艇) trip. Sweat runs down my cheek as I ______ my fingers through the cool water. I look around. It’s just me, a couple of seagulls, and shining freshwater to the horizon. This, I whisper to myself, is ______.

Solo outings had never ______ my mind before because I always had loyal friends willing to tag along. But three years ago, I moved to Cleveland. Meeting close friends in a new city is ______. And a world wide health crisis made ______ impossible.

In October 2022, I decided to ______ a whole day on a solo hiking trip. I went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) to ______ the autumn leaves. Five miles in, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so alive. I was more ______ of my surroundings than I’d ever been while hiking that day. I studied the markings of trees, focused my ears on each forest sound and did something I had almost never spared ______ for: I listened to my own thoughts. Every word in my mind pointed to a newfound ______—solo hiking is my happy place. From then on, I have adjusted myself to any solo activity.

Pride ______ through my body when I first launched my kayak. My chest, ______ tightened by nerves, was bursting with happiness as I finally reached the middle of the river that I’d long ______ standing on shore before.

Adventuring alone has become like medicine for me! It’s also pushed me to go ______ my comfort zone and to meet new people. Through meetups and social media, my adventure friend circle has ______. But at least once per month, I schedule time to hit nature with my favorite trail buddy: me.

2 . Like many young people, Jessica wants to travel the globe. Unlike most of them, this 25-year-old is doing it _______ . She and her husband have spent the last two years traveling the world, stopping everywhere from Paris to Singapore. It might sound like one long, expensive _______ , but the couple has an unusual way to make their travel _______ .

They’re part of a new form of the _______ economy: an online group of house sitters. Throughout their no-cost stays in _______ homes, they feed pets and water plants in the homeowner’s _______ .

It’s not all sightseeing. The two travelers carefully _______ their trips, scheduling their days around the pets that are sometimes difficult to _______ . But house sitting also offers a level of _______ they can’t find in a hotel. “It’s like ________ at a friend’s house,” Jessica says.

The couple has a high ________ rate in getting accepted as house sitters and they always go beyond the homeowner’s ________ . For Jessica, that means ________ plenty of pictures of happy pets, keeping the house ________ and leaving a nice small gift before heading to the next house. “You want to make the homeowner feel that they made the right ________ ,” she says.