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5 ways people are going “All In” this week

From the silliest to the most sentimental, there are so many ways people are going “all in” on the internet this week. Here are our five favorites.

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There’s something magical about watching someone go "all in" on something. Whether it’s an elaborately themed birthday party or a home chef turning dinner into a culinary spectacle, going "all in" means total commitment—no holding back, no second guessing, just full-throttle enthusiasm. It’s not just about doing something well; it’s about diving in headfirst—often with a bit of flair and creativity (or a lot of it). To go "all in" means to be fully present in the moment and create something truly special as a result.

In this roundup, we’ve scoured the internet for the best examples of people going all in—those moments where passion, creativity, and total commitment take center stage. Some are silly, some are sentimental, but all of them are a reminder that giving 100% is the only way to truly leave a mark on this world. Buckle up—these folks didn’t just show up, they went all in.

1. These new Hamilton re-enactments 

@actressbecc

a trend i can get behind

♬ Best of Wives and Best of Women - Phillipa Soo & Lin-Manuel Miranda

If you’ve been on TikTok at all in the past week, chances are you’ve come across the content creator Ashby, who’s famous for going live dressed (and in character) as the Lorax. Recently, Ashby’s been going viral for a different reason: Her hilarious reenactments of the scene in Hamilton where Alexander Hamilton sneaks out the window to prepare for his duel with Aaron Burr. In these reenactments, Ashby takes what used to be a sentimental song (“Best of Wives and Best of Women”) and hilariously reimagines it as Alexander being completely annoyed with his wife’s insistence to come back to bed.

Not only is Asbhy’s commitment to her character impressive (and laugh-out-loud funny), it’s also helped spark tons of other reenactments of the same scene across TikTok. Open the app and you’ll see dozens of other women who are also completely committed to the part—the facial expressions, the costumes, the scenery, even casting their significant others as Eliza. We have Ashby to thank for it.

2. BOGO (Buy One, Get One) bars for everyone

Another thing we like to go “all in” on? Saving money. And right now our friends at All In are giving us a fantastic deal on some seriously tasty snacks. To get a free (!!!) box of their organic snack bars, sign up with your phone number on Aisle, grab two boxes of All In bars at Sprouts, snap a pic of your receipt, and text it through Aisle. They’ll Venmo or PayPal you back for the cost of one box, and then all you have left to do is enjoy your new favorite treat. Easy peasy.

3. Conrad vs. Jeremiah 

@adelaidesdetours Replying to @user2411812280930 @hannah.1.2 and I came in hot to convince @Kennedy Bilse to join the Team Conrad train. @the summer i turned pretty ♬ original sound - adelaidesdetours

First, some background: Unless you’ve been living under a rock this summer, you probably know that the show everyone’s been watching is The Summer I Turned Pretty, a series based on the best-selling books written by Jenny Han. Essentially, it’s a story about a love triangle between Isabella “Belly” Conklin and her two lifelong best friends Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher. Now on its third season, we find Belly engaged to Jeremiah despite possibly (most definitely) harboring feelings for her ex (and Jeremiah’s brother!!!), Conrad. Jeremiah’s busy at work, so Conrad takes it upon himself to help Belly with planning her and Jeremiah’s wedding.

While the jury’s still out on who Belly will end up with, fans of the show have taken to social media to make elaborate arguments on which of the boys she should pick (and, sorry Jeremiah, but everyone is mostly #TeamConrad). In our favorite video, the creator adelaidesdetours creates a multi-part, in-depth slide deck that serves not only as a deep dive into Conrad Fisher’s character (he’s guarded! He’s grieving his mom!) but also as a treatise into why Conrad is the superior choice. If that weren’t extra enough, there’s also a third part to the powerpoint about why Jeremiah is wrong for Belly. Her argument is airtight, and her commitment to the bit is impressive (she even presents this slideshow to a Jeremiah supporter at work). All we can say is: nicely done. Team Conrad all the way.

4. These nursery rhyme-inspired raps 

@kaylonpatecia Part 2 #nurseryrhyme #babyshower ♬ original sound - KaylonPatecia

Let’s be honest: We don’t usually associate baby showers with loud music and party vibes. This one, though? Seems like the greatest baby shower of all time. These videos, posted to TikTok by content creator KaylonPatecia, show how friends and family transformed her baby shower into a vocal showdown worthy of the movie Pitch Perfect. Instead of singing a capella, though, these partygoers layered G-rated nursery rhymes like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Humpty Dumpty” over tracks like Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” and “Get Low” by Lil John and the East Side Boyz. The creativity, the planning, and the talent that went into making these almost defies belief, and this is undoubtedly a memory the entire family will be able to treasure for years.

5. This scavenger hunt marriage proposal 

@taylorarenz In honor of my brothers wedding week❤️I dare you to not cry at the best proposal ever! A scavenger hunt all through the city of Houston to her favorite places and most meaningful spots with her friends surprising her at each spot! #wedding #proposal #couples#proposalstory #marriage #viral #bestvideo #weddingtiktok #proposalvideo #surprise #fy #fyp @Pubity @Proposals Video ♬ Beautiful Girls - Sean Kingston

Finally, we have one of the most unforgettable examples of going all in that we’ve ever seen—a marriage proposal. In a TikTok posted by content creator Taylor Arenz, she shows how her brother planned an elaborate scavenger hunt across Houston to propose to his girlfriend. At each stop—all locations that were meaningful to their relationship—she was greeted by a friend or family member who would present her with a pre-recorded video message guiding her to the next destination. The entire thing was filmed, photographed, and capped off with an in-person, heartfelt proposal infant of a huge “MARRY ME” sign in the pouring rain. Talk about show-stopping. Hats off to this guy, who just set the bar sky-high for everyone else planning a proposal. He definitely went all in—and since they’re married now, clearly so did she.

Snag your free (!!) snack bars here while this deal lasts.

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A pianist on stage realized she'd prepared the wrong piece. Then she pulled off a miracle.

The encouraging conductor helped turn her "worst nightmare" scenario into a viral, magnificent feat.

Photo credit: Canva

Imagine showing up on stage to play a piano concerto and finding out you have to play a different one in two minutes.

You know that nightmare where you show up to the final day of class and there's a huge test and you panic as you realize you've missed the whole semester and haven't studied at all? Or how about the one where you have to give a big presentation at work and you show up totally unprepared—no notes, no visuals, no speech—and you have to wing it?

For musicians, the equivalent is showing up on stage to perform without preparation or rehearsal, which is exactly what happened to Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires when she was on stage in front of an audience of 2,000 people in Amsterdam in 1999. As the orchestra started to play, she quickly realized she was in trouble—she had prepared the wrong concerto. As the musicians played the two-and-a-half-minute intro to Mozart's Piano Concerto No.20, Pires sat at the piano in terror. She had not practiced that piece and she didn't even have the sheet music for it.

nightmare, wake up, scary, nightmare situation, gif Kenan Thompson Nightmare GIF by NBC Giphy

She had, however, played that concerto before, and in an inspiring feat of musicality, muscle memory, and sheer human will—along with some encouraging words from conductor Riccardo Chailly—Pires got herself centered and locked in, playing the correct concerto in its entirety, miraculously without missing a note.

The full story actually feels even more daunting for those of us who can't sit down and pound out a piano concerto at will. It turned out that Pires wasn't even the original pianist who was slated to play at this concert. She was asked the day before to be a replacement for the pianist who couldn't perform, so she didn't have a lot of time to prepare anyway. However, she'd misheard the number of the Mozart piece over the phone and thought it was a piece she had played only a couple of weeks before. If that had been the case, she would have been fine, even with the short notice. But having the wrong concerto in mind and then not even having the sheet music for the correct one was an extra pile-on from an already high-pressure situation.

The fact that it was a general rehearsal and not the official performance wasn't much consolation, since it was an open rehearsal with a full audience. A rehearsal audience is likely more forgiving than an audience that paid top dollar for a concert, but it's still mortifying to have thousands of people expecting you to perform something you have not prepared for.

Thankfully, Pires had performed the concerto multiple times, most recently about 10 or 11 months prior, so she wasn't clueless. But perfectly recalling something you did nearly a year ago at that level and under that amount of pressure is absolutely incredible.

The conductor who encouraged her later talked about how impressive it was. "The miracle is that she has such a memory that she could, within a minute, switch to a new concerto without making one mistake," said Chailly. However, Pires insists that her memory is not exceptional at all and that she is "very, very average" among musicians.

- YouTube youtu.be

But it wasn't the only time this happened to Pires. "I must say, this happened to me another two times in my life. In total, three times," she told ClassicFM's Joanna Gosling. "I hope it never happens again."

Pires already gets nervous about performing, despite being a world famous concert pianist.

"I normally feel very stressed on stage," Pires said. "It's not the stage, it's not the public, it's the responsibility. I feel insecure. And that's why I'm not a stage person somehow. There is one side of me that feels okay—I feel okay with the people. But being on stage and being responsible for something can give me some panic."

As Gosling points out, if you were just listening to the performance, you'd never know there'd been an issue. But the camera on her face tells an entire story during the orchestral opening as we see her grappling with the crisis she'd found herself in. Watching the moment she decided she had no choice but to just go for it, whatever happened, is remarkable. A true testament to the power of repetition and the resilience of the human spirit, and a reminder that musicians truly are magicians in so many ways.

This article originally appeared in March.

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A normal dad posted his 5-year-old's paintings online and the huge response floored him

Philip started out by trying to copy his dad's brushstrokes, but surpassed him quickly.

Unsplash & bruncvik/reddit
A dad posted his 5-year-old's paintings online and couldn't believe the huge response

One of the toughest things about being a parent is helping your child discover and nurture their talents. You want to encourage them to try new things without overwhelming them. You want them busy with lots of enriching activities but not so busy they don't have time to just be a kid. And when you do stumble on something they have a knack for, you tread lightly, wanting to give them every opportunity to pursue it without pushing too hard.

It's a really tricky balance to get right. Maybe that's why we're so fascinated with child prodigies, or even just talented kids whose parents have done a bang-up job of giving them the space and encouragement to explore their creativity.

Joseph, a dad from Dublin, Ireland says he started drawing and painting in the evenings about a year ago to help him unwind from work. It's a great idea, because adult coloring has been shown to have a ton of positive mental health effects. Plus, it's fun! But one unintended and adorable side effect of Joseph's coloring was that his young son, Philip, decided he wanted to emulate him.

Philip had always loved coloring but, Joseph says, "I had to get him some pastels, and he started trying on the same drawings as I did," Joseph says. "I found it absolutely adorable when he was seriously repeating the same movements as me: cleaning the tips of the pastels, blend the edges of colors, etc."

One thing quickly became apparent: Philip was much, much better than his old man.

"About a month ago, he made a painting that was so good I had to share it on Reddit. Within two days, it generated over 100,000 views and 3000 likes."

The overwhelming response? "Uh, 5-year-olds can't do that."

Have a look and see for yourself. Not bad, eh?

kids, children, child prodigies, parenting, dads, painting, art, artists, creativity, family Philip painted this blue mountain lake piece with help from a YouTube tutorial. bruncvik/reddit

The first piece Philip shared is wildly impressive. Some commenters couldn't believe that a 5-year-old could have made it, but I think you can see it pretty clearly. It has just enough childlike crudeness, but the stylistic flair is just off the charts, from the whispy sky to the slightly foreboding trees. Redditors agreed that it was incredible.

"Thats better than I can do now at 25," one Reddit user wrote.

Others questioned whether the boy might be related to Bob Ross.

"I told [Philip] about it, and I guess that was his first big dopamine hit," Joseph says of going viral. "Since then, he is asking to draw more often, and there's often an intrinsic reward for him. One painting got submitted to a charity auction at his school ... I don't pressure him to draw; he's coming to me to ask whether he can use my pastels"

One critical part of the story is that Philip often follows along with YouTube videos that his dad finds for him. Lest you think this should diminish how impressive the painting is, quite the contrary. As someone with an almost-5-year-old of my own, I've seen the kind of stuff kids this age are capable of drawing — and it's not this! No matter how much instruction they have.

The structured YouTube videos were able to unlock Philip's natural talent and guide him in a way that his dad never could.

Here's the finished painting he was following along with. Honestly? I like Philip's better! It has a lot more personality.


kids, children, child prodigies, parenting, dads, painting, art, artists, creativity, family Here's what the painting was "supposed" to look like. She'z ART/YouTube

The response to Philip's first painting was so positive that his dad decided to post another piece.

You gotta give the people what they want!

I love this one, too. The youngster's talent is on display again, with an excellent color palette and aggressive strokes giving it life. Remember — the kid is five years old! Five! Usually they can barely muster a convincing stick figure.


kids, children, child prodigies, parenting, dads, painting, art, artists, creativity, family I love this haunting purple and orange piece Philip painted! bruncvik/reddit

And again, here's the model painting from YouTube. Joseph said his own versions of these paint-alongs come out looking a lot like the example, but that his son has an incredible way of making them his own.

As you might expect from a 5-year-old, the brush strokes are a little more crude and dramatic — but they're purposeful, as well! Philip's renditions have a lot of energy and seem to leap off the page.

But what do I know? I'm no art critic. However, the huge social media response definitely shows that Philip is onto something here.

kids, children, child prodigies, parenting, dads, painting, art, artists, creativity, family A YouTube tutorial of a sunset river helped Philip learn to paint the scene. She'z ART/YouTube

Philip's dad gives a lot of thought to the right way to nurture his son's talent without pushing too hard and snuffing it out.

"He attended an afterschool art club, where they experimented with different media, but he found it too restrictive. He is still bringing home new art at least twice per week, but it's something he does on his own," dad says, not sure if pushing his son into formal art instruction is the right thing to do.

Experts say that pushing too hard when your kid shows a flair for something, especially regarding longterm goals (like going to art school or becoming a professional artist one day), can backfire big time and make them feel overwhelmed and resentful.

Believe it or not, the process of nurturing and teaching starts super early. Art teachers and experts agree that how you react to something as simple as your toddler's nonsensical scribbles can have a big impact on their self-esteem and enjoyment of making art.


@susanstrikeryoungatart

Scribbles provide an important opportunity to talk to your toddler, provide vocabulary, and promote literacy! #reading #readiness #scribbles #Vocabulary #todddler #art #kidsart #childrensart #childrenspainting #goodartprojects #teachingontiktok #criticalthinking #fypシ #fypage #teachingart #artlessons

Joseph finds lots of subtle ways to encourage his son's interest.

"One thing I do with him, though, is to talk about painting when we are out and about. Last weekend, we went to watch the sunset, and I asked him what colors he'd use for the clouds. ... Philip is just as obsessed with different shades (his current favorite word is 'vermilion' and his favorite color is 'turquoise'), and how they mix."

Being the parent of a talented or gifted kid is no easy job. There are a lot of pitfalls and plenty of ways to bungle your attempts to nurture that talent. As impressive as Philip's artwork is, especially for his age, the thoughtful parenting on display in this story is just as awesome.

This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.


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Author Ray Bradbury noticed a specific trait that made Walt Disney tremendously successful

This is how creative giants understand one another.

via Alan Light/Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia Commons

Walt Disney and Ray Bradbury.

The world’s greatest innovators think and behave differently from us mere mortals. They have a unique view of the world and are dedicated to their craft in ways that most would deem obsessive. But without that type of dedication, Steve Jobs could never have given us the Macintosh, Michael Jordan would never have been able to fly, and Michelangelo would have never painted the Sistine Chapel.

It’s hard for the average person to understand what makes a cultural innovator tick, which is why an interview with groundbreaking author Ray Bradbury on Walt Disney is so inspiring. It lifts the veil on what great artists see in one another that most of us can’t. Bradbury is the acclaimed author of classics such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, who was a friend of Disney and worked with his legendary company as a creative consultant.

What did Ray Bradbury think of Walt Disney?

In a 2004 interview, Bradbury explained where the incredibly ambitious and creative Disney got his drive and determination.


“If there’s any secret at all, it’s because Walt, like myself, is not an optimist but an optimal behaviorist. Which means that every day of your life, if you behave well, you begin to feel well,” Bradbury said. “So that’s not false, that’s real. You get your work done every day, and at the end of a week, a month, a year, you’ll turn around and say, hey, look what I did. So you feel good. That’s real optimism. Optimal behavior.”

“He could look back at the end of each year and see his behavior, and it made him want to go on. A lot of people are pessimists because they’ve never done anything,” Bradbury continued. “If you go to bed every night having not done anything, you’re going to wake up unhappy, aren’t you? So the answer to that is do something every day. Be busy, for God’s sake, be busy.”

walt disney, disney world, mickey mouse, disney company, disney theme parks, A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.via Paul Beattie/Flickr

What is a behavioral optimist?

Although “behavioral optimist” isn’t an official psychological term, it’s one that Bradbury often used to describe himself. “I’ve learned that by doing things, things get done. I’m not an optimist; I’m an optimal behaviorist. We ensure the future by doing it,” he said. “Optimists and pessimists are blind. But I’m not either. I’m an optimal behaviorist. In other words, I behave at the top of my lungs every day. There’s no guarantee, but you’re going to have a heck of a lot of fun. You’ll come to the end of your life with the secure knowledge that you tried everything.”

There are just two critical things in life, he said, “Being in love with your wife or husband and being in love with your work. And then everything’s fine.”

If you’ve always dreamed of living a life like Walt Disney, using your imagination to entertain and uplift humanity, you can start by looking at life in the same way. Big goals can often seem too lofty when we think about the finished product. Instead, take small, consistent steps every day towards achieving your goal. Writing a 300-page book may seem like too much work, but if you write a page a day, you’ll have a book before the end of the year. The key is to stay focused and consistent, just like Uncle Walt.

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