
Heeyyyyy, everyone! It's time to share our weekly collection of Hopeful Happy Things, which has frankly become a bit therapeutic for me to pull together. It's far too easy to let the Terrible Trending Things suck up all of our attention, so purposefully focusing on joy and delight feels quite healing.
Check out these 10 things and see if you agree.
Bear cubs find a hammock and create delightful chaos.
FLIPPING OUT: These curious cubs are still trying to figure out how to use a hammock. https://abcn.ws/305aW8j\u00a0pic.twitter.com/pD2fjcAj6F— ABC News (@ABC News) 1633615146
How frigging cute are these cubs? Every kid who tries to get into a hammock for the first time understands. Hang in there, cubbies. Hammocks are hard, even for humans.
This beatbox champion's stylings—the beatboxing AND the hair—are too epic.
The :50 second mark pic.twitter.com/MKgdDwkU0T— \ud83d\udc2e Holy Cow! \ud83d\udc2e (@\ud83d\udc2e Holy Cow! \ud83d\udc2e) 1633621581
First of all, holy talent, Batman. I don't even understand what he's doing, much less how, but I'm floored. Go, Show-go, go.
Second, let's talk about the bowl cut/mullet mashup, because that's just all kinds of WOW.
Pandas entertain themselves like toddlers and it's the best thing ever.
We keep pandas from dying out just so they can do this all day.. pic.twitter.com/WWtBtFtB1k— \ud83d\udca5 Best Videos & Content \ud83c\udfa5\ud83d\udca5 (@\ud83d\udca5 Best Videos & Content \ud83c\udfa5\ud83d\udca5) 1633135320
More videos of pandas doing somersaults, please.
The way this kiddo talks to his younger sibling is literally the cutest thing ever.
The voice. The sweetness. The emotional intelligence. The consent lesson. This is more than my ovaries can handle. Good job, Mama.
These super big brothers make Halloween epic with their baby sister every year.
That is one lucky baby girl.
There's nothing better than a best friend reunion, but this one will hit you right in the feelies.
3 yrs ago, best friends Stevie & Owen where separated when Owen moved to Missouri\n\nRecently, Stevie had a bad day at school & asked to be picked up early. He had no idea Owen had traveled to Chicago & was waiting in the car to surprise him.:Dianemstroudpic.twitter.com/In1Uh5Q20U— GoodNewsCorrespondent (@GoodNewsCorrespondent) 1633261470
Love a kid who lets his emotions out. Read the full story here.
Profoundly autistic boy said he wanted friends for his birthday. More than 55,000 people responded.
A boy with autism said he wished to make friends. On his birthday he got more than 55,000 messages from people around the world. - CBS News #autismhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-autism-friends-wish-53k-messages/\u00a0\u2026— Kev & Daniel\u2019s #autism journey (& Bruce \ud83d\ude09) (@Kev & Daniel\u2019s #autism journey (& Bruce \ud83d\ude09)) 1633384009
Daniel is profoundly autistic and his parents said that he had never expressed a desire for friends before. They weren't even sure if he fully grasped the idea of friendship. His dad shared his birthday wish on Twitter, and birthday greetings poured in from unexpected places. Read this beautiful story here.
We all need this reminder of how powerful and life-changing teachers can be.
"My teacher said I'm an artist!" and that's all it took for this kid to proudly display his artwork. Teachers are superheroes with incredible powers.
Surprise veteran homecomings never get old. This one is just pure joy.
If that doesn't make you smile (and then maybe cry a little), then I don't even know. Splash some cold water on your face or something and make sure your heart is pumping.
Seriously cannot get enough of Abby, the donut thief superhero.
This isn't new, but I'd never seen a compilation of this cutie's verbal gems before. Too hilarious. I did a little digging and found out the family has a TikTok channel (@alongcameabby), so excuse me while I go bingewatch a precocious preschooler for hours.
Hope that lifted your spirit! Keep an eye out next Friday for another round-up of happiness. :)
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."