On hard days, sometimes all you need is a tiny pick-me-up, courtesy of the Internet—and that’s where we come in. At Upworthy, we’re kinda sorta obsessed with combing the internet to find the most uplifting, life-affirming, genuinely wonderful things worth sharing (consider it our antidote to the daily doomscroll). And not to toot our own horn, but we’re pretty good at it.
This week, with an assist from our friends at Shriners Children’s™, we’ve rounded up the best of the best—five of the most joyful moments we’ve spotted online. The opposite of doomscrolling, you might say. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
1. The penguin proposal
Marriage proposals are always a joyful thing to witness, but this one goes above and beyond. Some important context: In the animal kingdom, male penguins have a very particular way of “proposing” to the object of their affection. Because Antarctica has very little foliage with which penguins can build their nests, male penguins “propose” to their future nest-mates by searching for smooth pebbles and laying one at the female penguin’s feet—kind of like a little housewarming present and an engagement ring all in one. If the female present picks it up and adds the pebble to her nest, it means she accepts the guy penguin as her nest-building partner.
TikTok user Wyatt Jennings struck gold when he witnessed a male penguin, called Scamper, propose to his future nest-mate at a local zoo. Watching Scamper waddle over to deliver a pebble is absolutely adorable, but the most joyful part is no doubt all the onlookers at the zoo loudly cheering on Scamper in the background as he runs: “Run, Scamper! Your lover needs you!” With that kind of hustle, we just know Scamper is going to make an excellent nest-mate.
2. The best big brother welcome
This is one seriously joyful new baby welcome video—and it actually has nothing to do with the baby in question. Hear us out: In this video, TikTok creator Ivy captures the moment where her son, a new big brother, goes to the hospital to meet his baby sibling for the first time. As Ivy films from the hospital bed, she captures her son opening the hospital door, smiling shyly at her, and then rushing past her and the new baby straight in the arms of his stepdad, who gives him the biggest bear hug. “He loves his sister now,” Ivy clarifies in the caption, “but he had to run to [his stepdad] first!” The look of joy on both their faces is going to carry us through the rest of the workweek.
3.Clara Is Sharing Comfort, One Teddy Bear at a Time
Meet Clara, an energetic child who has been receiving care at Shriners Children’s since she was a baby.
Clara was diagnosed at age 15 months with infantile scoliosis, a rare form of scoliosis that develops in children under the age of three and causes the spine to curve into an S- or C-shape measuring ten degrees or more. (By comparison, a healthy spine has little to no sideways curvature, and typically measures less than 10 degrees.)
In case you can’t tell from this social media post, however, Clara’s not only thriving, she’s taking big steps to help other kids who have similar conditions. At Shriners Children’s, Clara’s treatment has involved Mehta casting, which means wearing a series of plaster casts across her torso to straighten her spine over time. Thanks to the casting and the care she’s received at Shriners Children’s, her spinal curve has improved dramatically, from 50 degrees to an astounding 18 degrees.
Now, Clara is raising money for teddy bears that wear back braces (just like she does!) and is bringing them into the hospital. Incredibly, she’s already managed to bring in 145 of them to give to other kids. The pure joy she must be bringing them deserves a round of applause (or several).
4. A seriously joyful baby announcement
Baby announcements are always joyful—what’s not to love about a new baby joining the family?!—but this one is extra special. When TikTok creator Sarah Hale finds out she’s expecting, she sets up a video camera to break the news to her parents. Her dad jumps around the kitchen, pointing to his shirt that literally says the word “joy” on it (so adorable)—but arguably the best reaction is her mom’s overjoyed face, looking from her daughter to the person behind the camera to confirm she is really truly going to be a grandma. Here’s the kicker, though: This news is extra super joyful because it’s coming at a difficult moment—her mom is currently battling cancer. As they embrace, the daughter tells her through tears, “try to hang on, OK?” And I don’t know about you guys, but my screen just got super blurry.
5. A half-marathon surprise
Having a partner who supports the things you love is maybe the biggest green flag there is—and TikTok user Jason Burns (shoutout, you’re awesome!) takes supporting his girlfriend to a whole new level, making for one seriously joyful moment. In the video, Jason pulls his girlfriend to the side right before she’s supposed to run a half marathon and shows her a pair of (male) running shoes and a printout of a text from her that says, “I wish you’d run a half marathon with me!” In what must have been the surprise of a lifetime, Jason then reveals to her he’s been secretly training for the past nine weeks so he can run the race alongside her. As she cries and hugs him, Jason jokes “I’ve been running every weekend to train for this…I’ve lied to you so many times over the last two-and-a-half months about what I’ve been doing!” The joy in this video is truly palpable, and honestly, if secretly training for your girlfriend’s half marathon isn’t an enormous green flag, we don’t know what is.
Go and spread some joy yourself! Donate to Shriners Children’s today to help children get life-changing pediatric care.
