10 things that made us smile this week
From a smooch-loving doggo to a match made on Duolingo to an adorable daddy-daughter duet, this week's list of things that made us smile is bringing the joy.

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy
I recently sat down with Rainn Wilson to talk about his book, "Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution," for the Upworthy Book Club, and one of the things we talked about was cynicism. We live in a world where it's so easy to be cynical, to toss up our hands and say, "People suck, so why bother?"
However, when we become cynical, we allow the negative forces in the world win. So what do we do instead?
Wilson posits that the opposite of cynicism isn't optimism, but joy. Optimism too easily becomes "toxic positivity," which is insensitive to the real difficulties people face. But as Wilson writes, joy "doesn't disregard the hard stuff. Joy knows that negativity is a part of life as well. Joy says that life is hard but there is a place you can go, a tool you can use. Joy is a force. A choice. Something that can be harnessed. A decision to be made."
There are lots of ways to foster joy in our lives, from being of service to others to spending time with loved ones to appreciating nature to finding wholesome reasons to smile and laugh.
Joy is powerful, and however small a measure of it this week's roundup provides, I hope it helps you battle away cynicism and offers some hope and peace to your soul.
1. Doggo makes it crystal clear that she wants allll the kisses.
Her communication couldn't be clearer even if she could talk.
2. You never know what a random act of kindness means to the person on the receiving end
"If it's on your heart to do something nice for someone, just do it." Words to live by.
3. Older skater holds younger skater's hand to help with a trick and his reaction when he lands it is priceless.
Skateboarding has really created such an awesome, supportive community. Read the full story here.
4. Two strangers met on Duolingo when he kept congratulating her on her progress. Now they're married.
What an adorable real-life meet cute!
5. Couple raises over $37,000 for a kid who came by their house looking for someone to befriend
@brennanray Its takes 2 seconds to make someones day, you never know what people are going through until you get a chance to talk to them. This young man is well mannered, kind, and brave. So tiktok can we help shayden make some friends???#fyp #bekind #nobullying #love #kindness #letschangetheworld
It takes a lot of courage to ask for help and to put yourself out there, especially when you've been bullied. This kiddo may not have found any kids his age at the Ray home, but he did find some kind neighbors who wanted to help him out and raised over $37,000 for him and his family in a GoFundMe. Read the full story here.
6. Dad and baby singing their ABCs together doesn't really get any cuter
Let's get this cat together with the chihuahua in the first video and see what happens.
8. Accidental speech-to-text is the absolute best, but especially when you're talking to a dog
"Got to poop, little poopster?"
9. A raucous piano solo turned into a rockin' dance party at the mall
Staged? Eh, perhaps. Fun and joyful to witness? Most definitely.
10. If you're baking in the July heat, take some cool inspiration from this happy polar bear
Are you feeling the joy? Would you like more of it? Get these smiley-worthy posts delivered to your inbox each week by signing up for our free email newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.
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."