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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's roundup of joyful finds from around the internet.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Spring is springing here in the Northern Hemisphere, and even though the same thing happens every year, it never gets old. No matter how long and dark and cold the winter gets (for those of us in the northern climes, anyway), the sun always comes out, the greenery always returns and the flowers always blossom.

It's refreshing and beautiful and life-giving, every time—and a metaphorical reminder that growth and renewal are possible. There are rainy days and muddy messes and old, dead stuff to clear out of the way, but it's all in the service of life reasserting itself.

It's the season for celebrating hope, friends. Let's do it.


This week's round-up of internet delights includes humans being excellent to each other, people sharing their amazing talents, animals being hilarious and sweet, and heartwarming examples of support and unconditional love. It's joy and hope in 10 small packages, which when you put them all together, will hopefully give you a little boost in your faith in humanity.

Enjoy:

Epic proof that dance = the great unifier.

I mean, this is literally nothing but pure human joy.

The crowd hushed for this blind basketball player to hear the hoop—then went wild when she made it.

Jules Hoogland is a junior at Zeeland East High School in Michigan, and she plays on the United Sports team, which organizes teams with and without disabilities to play together. Awesome example of meaningful inclusion. Read the full story here.

The musical talents of the Wilson family are just PHEW.

Like, DANG. Even the wee one! So impressive.

Skaters helped an elder ride a skateboard for the first time and she was so stoked. 

@kevperez_

Wholesome Content ❤️ *EXTENTED VERSION*…I filmed this in Washington D.C April 2017 #skateboarding #skate #wholesome

Gotta love a little intergenerational sharing.

Macaw enjoying a bath—and objecting to the human turning off the faucet.

"Did I say I was done?" indeed. Macaws are a species of parrot, and parrots are said to have the approximate intelligence of a human toddler, so this isn't surprising. Still delightful, though.

Bap that fish, kitten!

@catoriess

kitten plays ipad games #fypシ

Ah, what the wonders of the modern world can do.

Doggos playing some good old-fashioned keepy uppy.

This is genuinely impressive. Look at the air some of them get!

And then there's this doggo who just loves on everyone.

Totally in love. Golden retrievers aren't known as one of the friendliest dog breeds for nothing.

Anne Hathaway blows Kelly Clarkson away with her own song in a karaoke competition.

You'd think going up against Kelly Clarkson in a singing competition would be a huge mistake, but Anne Hathaway can hold her own. And Clarkson's reaction to missing her own song is hilarious. Read the full story and watch the full segment here.

The love of Ketanji Brown Jackson's family during her opening statement was so beautiful.

The tears her husband wiped away. The look of knowing admiration on their daughter's face. Her parents were in the crowd, too, their faces beaming with pride. A beautiful highlight in this historic moment. Read the full story here.

Hope that restored a little calm and joy to your heart at the end of a long week. Come back again next Friday for another roundup of smile-worthy finds from around the internet.

True

After over a thousand years of peaceful relations, European semi-superpowers Sweden and Switzerland may finally address a lingering issue between the two nations. But the problem isn’t either country’s fault. The point is that the rest of the world can’t tell them apart. They simply don’t know their kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumpling) from their birchermüesli (a Swiss breakfast dish).

This confusion on the European continent has played out in countless ways.

Swedish people who move to the United States often complain of being introduced as Swiss. The New York Stock Exchange has fallen victim to the confusion, and a French hockey team once greeted their Swiss opponents, SC Bern, by playing the Swedish National Anthem and raising the Swedish flag.

Skämtar du med mig? (“Are you kidding me?” in Swedish)

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Sometimes speaking our truth can help history from repeating itself.

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Almost all the important conversations are uncomfortable

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There’s a specific trait that exists deep in the American collective psyche that suggests that one’s financial well-being is somehow a reflection of their moral compass. Many people assume that if someone struggles to get by, they don’t work hard enough or make poor choices.

But that knee-jerk reaction couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are countless reasons why hard-working people struggle, especially these days with historically high inflation. Just about everything costs an arm and a leg.

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Overachievers can struggle with mental health issues, too.


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During her evaluation, she asked about my coursework. I told her that I had a 4.0 GPA and had filled my schedule with pre-AP and AP classes. A puzzled look crossed her face. She asked about my involvement in extracurricular activities. As I rattled off the long list of groups and organizations I was a part of, her frown creased further.

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Her boyfriend asked her to draw a comic about their relationship. Hilarity ensued.

The series combines humor and playful drawings with spot-on depictions of the intense familiarity that long-standing coupledom often brings.

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"It was all his idea."

An offhand suggestion from her boyfriend of two years coupled with her own lifelong love of comic strips like "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Get Fuzzy" gave 22-year-old Catana Chetwynd the push she needed to start drawing an illustrated series about long-term relationships.

Specifically, her own relationship.

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