Watch Lauryn Hill perform "To Zion" as her son surprises her.
Even if you haven't heard of Lauryn Hill, you've likely heard one or more of her songs. Hill's music was a staple in the '90s, from her time with the group The Fugees to her own solo music career. The songs she sang always had deep meaning and touched people in ways they may not have been expecting. In 1998, Hill released a moving song titled "To Zion," dedicated to her unborn son. Recently, she sang at ONE Musicfest in Atlanta and when she belted out the lyrics to her his song "To Zion," her son Zion made an appearance.
The surprise appearance by Zion was a full-circle moment for the singer as her son brought out his children while the emotional Hill introduced them to the audience. When Hill became pregnant with Zion Marley she was at the height of her career and the song was written as a tribute to her son after she had received advice from others to not keep him. The song is pretty thorough in laying out the information the star was receiving along with her choice to keep Zion, whose father is Rohan Marley, Bob Marley's son.
During the event, Hill teases the audience explaining, "All of these children are making me a very young grandma. I'm like listen. Mimi, they call me Mimi." Hill, a mother of six, is only 47 years old, which could be considered young for a grandmother. The sweet moment starts at 5:06, watch it below.
Every night, the van delivers nourishment in all kinds of ways to those who need it most
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Homelessness in New York City has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Over 50,000 people sleep each night in a shelter, while thousands of others rely on city streets, the subway system and other public locations as spaces to rest.
That’s why this meal (and sock) delivery van is an effective resource for providing aid to those experiencing homelessness in New York City.
Every night of the year, from 7pm to 9:30, the Coalition for the Homeless drives a small fleet of vans to over 25 stops throughout upper and lower Manhattan and in the Bronx. At each stop, adults and families in need can receive a warm meal, a welcoming smile from volunteers, and a fresh, comfy new pair of Bombas socks. Socks may be even more important than you think.
Bombas was founded in 2013 after the discovery that socks were the #1 most requested clothing item at homeless shelters.
Access to fresh, clean socks is often limited for individuals experiencing homelessness—whether someone is living on the street and walking for much of the day, or is unstably housed without reliable access to laundry or storage. And for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness —expenses might need to be prioritized for more critical needs like food, medication, school supplies, or gas. Used socks can’t be donated to shelters for hygienic reasons, making this important item even more difficult to supply to those who need it the most.
Bombas offers its consumers durable, long-lasting and comfortable socks, and for every pair of Bombas socks purchased, an additional pair of specially-designed socks is donated to organizations supporting those in need, like Coalition for the Homeless. What started out as a simple collaboration with a few organizations and nonprofits to help individuals without housing security has quickly become a bona fide giving movement. Bombas now has approximately 3,500 Giving Partners nationwide.
Though every individual’s experience is unique, there can frequently be an inherent lack of trust of institutions that want to help—making a solution even more challenging to achieve. “I’ve had people reach out when I’m handing them a pair of socks and their hands are shaking and they’re looking around, and they’re wondering ‘why is this person being nice to me?’” Robbi Montoya—director at Dorothy Day House, another Giving Partner—told Bombas.
Donations like socks are a small way to create connection. And they can quickly become something much bigger. Right now over 1,000 people receive clothing and warm food every night, rain or shine, from a Coalition for the Homeless van. That bit of consistent kindness during a time of struggle can help offer the feeling of true support. This type of encouragement is often crucial for organizations to help those take the next difficult steps towards stability.
This philosophy helped Bombas and its abundance of Giving Partners extend their reach beyond New York City. Over 75 million clothing items have been donated to those who need it the most across all 50 states. Over the years Bombas has accumulated all kinds of valuable statistics, information, and highlights from Giving Partners similar to the Coalition for the Homeless vans and Dorothy Day House, which can be found in the Bombas Impact Report.
In the Impact Report, you’ll also find out how to get involved—whether it’s purchasing a pair of Bombas socks to get another item donated, joining a volunteer group, or shifting the conversation around homelessness to prioritize compassion and humanity.
Esther Wojcicki has earned the right to tell people how to raise their kids. She’s an educator, journalist and bestselling author of "How to Raise Successful People" who has raised three daughters—two are CEOs and the other a doctor.
Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube, Anne Wojcicki is the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe and Dr. Janet Wojcicki is an anthropologist and epidemiologist who works on HIV progression and obesity risk in children.
In "How to Raise Successful People" Esther Wojcicki says the secret to success is the result of “TRICK”: trust, respect, independence, collaboration and kindness. In a new article she wrote for NBC Chicago, she boiled that down to one rule, “Don't do anything for your kids that they can do for themselves.”
\u201cSisters Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe, and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, are ranked among America\u2019s top women entrepreneurs \nhttps://t.co/En8Vin9Zl7 #SelfMadeWomen\u201d
“Parents need to stop coddling their kids,” she continues. “The more you trust your children to do things on their own, the more empowered they'll be. The key is to begin with guided practice: It's the ‘I do, we do, you do’ method.”
The “I do, we do, you do” method is used by teachers to gradually give students new responsibilities. The teacher first demonstrates the task, then they do it with the student and finally, the student does it alone.
Wojcicki says that parents can start with their children by asking them to make their beds, pick their own outfits and to help with dishes and making dinner. It’s funny that every child is raised by a parent who cooks them meals, but an astonishing number of them grow up having no idea how to boil water. Why? Because nobody bothered to get them involved.
As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he’ll eat forever.”
\u201cFor all you parents out there. \nYou may want to do something "unpopular" while raising your kids, "How to Raise Successful People" author Esther Wojcicki says. https://t.co/GEkHHnN5q5\u201d
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBC10 Philadelphia)
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“The idea is to teach them how to cope with what life throws at them,” she writes. “One of the most important lessons I taught my daughters is that the only thing you can control is how you react to things.”
Wojcicki’s rules are a reaction to the modern trend of helicopter parenting, which is "overly focused on their children" where parents "take too much responsibility for their children's experiences and, specifically, their successes or failures." This can result in children who grow into adults with lower self-confidence and self-esteem, poor coping skills, increased anxiety and a sense of entitlement.
Simply put, when children are too dependent on their parents, they become ill-equipped to deal with real-world challenges. So when parents think they’re helping their children, they are actually setting them up for failure. Is it any wonder why we live in an age where more and more people suffer from crippling anxiety and depression? The world is a lot scarier when you’re not properly equipped to deal with everyday problems.
“When you trust kids to make their own decisions, they start to feel more engaged, confident and empowered,” Wojcicki writes. “And once that happens, there's no limit to what they can achieve.”
While, at first, this dramatic change in parenting may seem difficult for parents who have a hard time letting go, it’s an opportunity for them to grow. “What I realized, through a lot of conscious effort, is that parenting gives us perhaps the most profound opportunity to grow as human beings,” she writes in "How to Raise Successful People."
Mystery Scoop creates all kinds of moving portraits based on historical figures.
For better or worse, AI technology has opened up a whole new genre of art. Artists who use it have been able to create some truly remarkable works—whether that’s bringing back beloved icons or bringing cartoon characters to life in a hyper-realistic way.
The creators behind Mystery Scoop have also blended some digital art wizardry and AI programs to render portraits from the late Victorian era that not only have stunning color, but lifelike movements. And the results are mesmerizing.
A video posted to their YouTube channel titled “19th Century Portraits Brought To Life” shows Victorian men and women as they undergo a full restoration, thanks to colorists Klimbim and Lorenzo Folli. But the magic doesn’t stop there. The “labor of love” also incorporates the “latest tools in AI technology" to bring facial movements to the photo. These static, black-and-white portraits quickly become breathing, blinking, smirking seemingly living beings.
For many viewers, the modernized portraits provided so much more than shock value. People were genuinely moved—a tried-and-true sign of successful art. “I cannot explain the emotions that this brought over me,” one person commented. “I began to tear up immediately. Knowing that these people are long gone...yet brought to life by someone years after their passing. They're being remembered in such a beautiful way. Seeing them fade in and out of life was haunting. This was absolutely powerful.”
Another commenter poignantly noted how these simple touches helped instill feelings of empathy. “The animation allows you to see the glimmer of who they were…a shimmer of their soul perhaps! You can see their hopes and dreams rise up into their eyes and ever so fleetingly, even their fear and worry and sometimes grief flickers softly in their expressions! Then you can't help hoping that they lived happily…I know it is all an illusion and yet it makes me care about them and care deeply.”
Of course, people of the late Victorian age aren’t the only ones to receive the Mystery Scoop treatment. The group’s channels across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are filled with historical figures of different decades.
Below is infamous outlaw Bonnie Parker, sans her beau Clyde Barrow.
By “infusing still pictures, statues and paintings with realism,” Mystery Scoop has found a new way to help the legacy of those who’ve passed live on in the hearts and minds of those still here. While there is much to be said about how AI can take away from the human experience, it’s hard not to see works like this and appreciate how it can bring people together just as easily. One thing is for sure—humanity could always use art that touches us on an emotional level. And when a piece of art does, that’s worth celebrating.
George Yionoulis is pretty much your typical 9-year-old.
The fourth-grader from Raleigh, North Carolina, loves "Harry Potter," making art, and eating tacos.
Oh, and he loooooooves dancing. The kid has some serious moves.
While it's pretty easy to understand why George loves tacos (who doesn't?), there are some things George does that aren't quite as easy for people to understand. That's because when was 2 years old, his parents discovered has an autism spectrum disorder.
George's autism makes it harder for his classmates at Douglas Elementary School to relate to him. So he used a class project to help them understand him a little better.
George wrote, narrated, edited, and produced a video called "My Autism" and even created an original score to accompany the six-minute clip.
"Hi, everybody. My name is George," George begins his voiceover as text reading "GEORGE ... and AUTISM" flashes across the screen before cutting to footage of George dancing.
"Let me tell you a little about myself," he continues. "I have fun dancing, I have fun making music, I love to draw and make art, and ... wait for it ... I have this thing called autism."
In the video, George shares some of his unique quirks — things he knows his classmates have noticed about him but maybe haven't had the courage to ask about.
Like the fact that he has trouble making eye contact with people when they speak to him, though he says he's gotten better about it. "I might not have been looking, but that didn't mean I wasn't listening," he explains.
"Speaking of listening," he continues. "I can hear and see a lot of things and sounds all at the same time, which sometimes makes it hard to focus on any one sound or thought. That's why it might take a little more time to answer you when you ask a question."
He also has trouble with metaphors and figures of speech, which is common for kids with autism, and advises his classmates to be as literal and clear with him as possible.
"If you say 'take a seat,' you might find one less chair in your classroom," he jokes.
George also opens up about some of the challenges he faces and hopes the video will help his friends understand why he sometimes gets angry, cries, or yells."
I sometimes get frustrated when I get interrupted or when something doesn't go as planned," he admits. "Or when something unexpected happens. Or when I make a mistake."
In a courageous peek behind the curtain, George even includes video of himself — at a much younger age — throwing a tantrum at a book reading as well as audio of himself stumbling with his words while recording the narration for the video and becoming audibly frustrated. "But I messed up!" he cries.
"(Some of those) are just kid things to get frustrated about, and I'm a kid just like you," he says. "All us kids are different in our own ways, right?"
At the end, George asks his classmates to come talk to him, ask him questions, or invite him to play — even if it seems like he might not want to.
"I like having fun, just like you. So if you ever see me playing by myself, it doesn't necessarily mean I don't want to play with you, too," he tells them. "I always want to play with you."
His heartwarming honesty and larger-than-life on-screen personality are so compelling, it's no wonder the video has gone viral. Shortly after the video went up on YouTube and Facebook, it racked up tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
Initially, it was only meant for George's 21 elementary school classmates.
"The feedback we're getting is, 'I showed this to my 6-year-old who has autism, I showed this to my 12-year-old who has autism,' and they're going, 'Me too, and we could be friends!'" his mother, Lisa Jolley told Raleigh-Durham's WTVD/ABC11.
In a world where people with autism aren't often given the chance to speak for themselves, it's both really cool and really significant that George has taken control of his own life story and experience and is sharing them in his own words. At only 9 years old, he's already making huge strides in helping the world better understand a condition that affects about 1 in 68 kids in the United States.
Watch the full video below, and you'll probably learn something new yourself.
At the very least, you're bound to fall in love with this charming and courageous kid.
My Autism - by George
George's journey with autism at 9 years old. This is the video he shared with his fourth grade class to help them understand why he behaves the way he does...
At the end, George asks his classmates to come talk to him, ask him questions, or invite him to play — even if it seems like he might not want to.