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10 things that made us smile this week

Four-year-olds doing cute things, animals making epic comebacks, and music, music, music.

happiness

Joy can be found high in the sky or low on the ground.

Happiness is not something our survival-centered brains naturally gravitate towards. We all need help once in a while to shift our mindset with reminders of just how wonderful, hilarious, magical, endearing and truly awesome life on this blue planet can be.

Luckily, there are countless sources of joyful inspiration out there, both IRL and in the virtual realm. At Upworthy, we like to make collecting those uplifting gems just a little bit easier for you with these weekly round-ups. And the funny thing is: week after week, the world provides.

Here are 10 smile-inducing things we've discovered this week. Enjoy!

1. Life is beautiful. Just take it from Scooter, "The World's Ugliest Dog."

If Scooter, a bald 7-year-old Chinese Crested dog with backwards facing hind legs can not only escape certain death to be in a loving home, but make an epic comeback by winning the "World's Ugliest Dog" competition…then perhaps there's hope for us all.

2. Her name is Van Van. She likes to rap. At 2 o'clock, she takes a nap.

See on Instagram

Can you believe this impressive word play is being effortlessly spewed by a four-year-old?! The adorable march and dad's hype up take it to next level sweetness too. Van Van has way more raps where that came from.

3. Wild buffalo returning to their natural habitat on Blackfeet tribal land is a breathtaking sight.

'Absolutely epic': Blackfeet Nation releases wild buffalo on tribal land, returning free-roaming buffalo to their native habitat https://t.co/79S1RiUFbC
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) June 28, 2023

A win for nature. And a win for Indigenous groups. Huzzah.

4. As it turns out, Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is the perfect Blink-182 song

It's the Blink style "na na na"s in lieu of Beyoncé's "oh oh oh"s for me. This diddy is brought to you by Alex Melton, who has all kids of Blink-182 covers. And they're all bangers.

5. May we all enjoy life as much as this 41-year-old at her first ever hip-hop class

It's never too late to try something new.

6. Guy ends up being the only one on his flight, so he decides to party with the crew

@phil.stringer
18-hour delay turned this flight into a private party! ✈️🥳 Watch how the amazing crew and I made the most of it! #americanairlines #flightattendant #airplanetiktok #privateparty #FlightFun #delayedflight #fyp #viral

After a near 18 hours delay, everybody except for Phil Stringer had given up on a flight heading from Oklahoma City to Charlotte. Did that stop him from having the time of his life? Hell no. you can read the full wholesome story here.

7. Gorillas, lemurs and more beat the heat with Pride-themed rainbow ice pops

Happy Pride to humans and animals everywhere. Stay cool, y'all.

8. The family that sings together, stays together.

New Jersey's Sharpe Family Singers wowed the "America's Got Talent" crowd with a sensational cover of "How far i'll Go" from Disney's Moana. But even more inspiring than their talent is the sheer amount of fun they have together on stage.

9. Friends come in all shapes and sizes…including hummingbird size.

You know how they say you attract more bees with honey? The same could be said for nectar and hummingbirds. That's why this clever 4-year-old girl hid herself in a nectar suit to get up close and personal with some bird friends. The sweet experiment proved a success.

10. And last but not least: when anxiety levels are too high, follow this dog's lead and take a chill pill

@barstoolsports Little man is somewhere else 😭 @Son of a Boy Dad ♬ original sound - Barstool Sports

Of course, in this pup's case…there can be too much of a good thing. But even his hilarious "melting face" is enough to put a smile on ours. How about you?

This viral bookshelf hack is helping people create beautiful luxury closets on a realistic budget

The closet of your dreams is only a bookshelf away.

Morgan Baiiley|TikTok

Viral bookshelf hack is creating luxury closets on a budget

Peak adulthood is being envious of rich people's closets. There's usually some sort of full length couch in them or a luxurious chaise lounge, a wall of shoes and some sort of automated rack that spins to help you pick out a tie. They are amazing and the non-rich people typically have some wire racks in a small walk-in with no where to put shoes, bags or anything else that doesn't hang.

But people have been finding a way to revamp their normal closets to look like they were custom built and it's for a price tag that will make your budget happy. The Target bookshelf hack has been going viral on TikTok for several months as new people discover the trend and post their own before and after videos.

Users on the social media app are buying the tall $40 Room Essentials bookshelves from Target and turning them into custom closet builds.

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target bookshelf hack

Teen with autism makes record-breaking Jenga block tower, inspiring Hallmark holiday movie

15-year-old Auldin Maxwell, who stacked an astonishing 1,840 Jenga pieces all on one single block, says using them helps tap into his creativity.

Canva

Maxwell hold two Jenga-realted world records

At the ripe old age of fifteen, Auldin Maxwell is already breaking world records and inspiring Hallmark movies.

Maxwell landed his first spot in the Guinness World Records in November 2020, when he successfully balanced 693 Jenga blocks all on top of one vertical facing Jenga block.

Only four months later, he broke his own record by stacking 1,400 Jenga blocks onto one vertical block, more than doubling the original amount. He then broke the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks (500) stacked on top of a single vertical Jenga GIANT block.

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Are women actually quiet quitting their marriages? Women say not so much.

Men are often blindsided by their partner filing for divorce while women prepare for months.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Women push back on claim they're quiet quitting their marriage

By now everyone's familiar with the term quiet quitting. Doing the bare minimum of your job requirements to not get fired but don't really go above an beyond to secure promotions or pay increases. The term has been applied to areas outside of the workplace as well, specifically dating relationships but in a recent Newsweek article, it's expanded to marriage.

Except, Newsweek's article and accompanying video are implying that the quiet quitting of a marriage is more prevalent for the woman in marriages. Statistics are pretty indisputable—nearly 70% of divorces are initiated by women and men, according to the article are often blindsided by the filing.

In the case of quiet quitting marriage, the wife often continues to do the daily responsibilities of a partner and continue having a sexual relationship while planning their exit. But are women actually quiet quitting because women have other opinions on the matter.

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quiet quit marriage

'This isn't how it's supposed to be': Family with ‘good jobs’ lives paycheck-to-paycheck

“Go to college, get a degree, work to support your family. Here we are. Did that. Now what?”

via Mackmoan1988/TikTok and Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

A mom in Pennsylvania is having a hard time getting by even though she has a good job.

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.

For many, the sharp increase and costs forced them to go from being comfortable to getting by paycheck to paycheck. In addition to the financial stress, many feel stigmatized because of their struggles.

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