A Peace Corps trainer taught Kristine Madera a two-minute trick for building instant community as a solo traveler in Papua New Guinea, and it still works almost everywhere else. We get into that trick, why small talk is never actually small, and what it means to belong to yourself before you belong anywhere else.

People often ask me if I get lonely traveling on my own. After more than 40 solo trips, I’ve stopped believing alone and lonely are the same thing. Here’s what a Saturday night at a London musical, two empty seats beside me, taught me about solitude, the capacity to be alone, and why going solo after 40 can feel lighter than you expect.

We keep telling ourselves we’ll take the trip we actually want once we’ve figured everything out. What if you have that backwards? The adult gap year doesn’t have to be a year, or a leap, or anything as big as you’re picturing. Here’s why a change of scene, even a small one, does what more thinking never will, plus one tiny thing you can try this week.