good things that happened in january

31 Good Things that Happened in January

Hello and welcome back to another edition of All the Good Things, a monthly series where I highlight all the good things (get it?) that happen in each 30-day (or so) span. I hope it can be a reminder that amongst all the well known bad, there is a lot of undercover good happening in our world.

Let’s dive right in.

1) Buzzfeed released this list of clever and hilarious people

2) This mom found a creative solution:

3) These people shared the best lessons they learned from 2020

4) This:

5) This UFC fighter gave back

6) This UPS driver got a parade in his honor

7) This:

8) This police officer bought dinner for two women who were suspected of shoplifting

9) This:

10) This man started fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club by collecting pennies.

11) This potato AirBnb became a crowd favorite for future vacations

12) This:

13) The Indoguration

14) The mayor of Paris announced plans to turn the Champs-Élysées into a garden

15) This woman said what we were all thinking:

16) TikTok users helped develop a pill bottle that is easier to use with shaky hands.

17) These volunteers removed 9,200 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River

18) This cat kept watch

19) This 10 year old cashed in on GameStop stocks gifted to him two years ago

20) This woman gave a great tip:

21) This dog visited the hospital her owner was being treated at every day until he was released

22) This activist used chip bags to make sleeping bags for the homeless

23) This woman created an app to help those with special needs make friends

24) This woman made a good point:

25) This waitress saved a boy from his abusive parents

26) This woman started Saddle Up & Read, a program that uses horses to help kids get excited about reading

27) This:

28) This hardworking teen was gifted a car

29) This:

30) This geologist found a rock formation that looks exactly like Cookie Monster

31) And finally, this iguana struck a post

Wanna know the best part? There is SO much I didn’t include.

I can’t wait to see what February brings!

You can view the last edition of this series here.

31 Good Things that Happened in January

I usually put the same intro before my monthly “good things” posts, but this one felt a little different. January was rough. And it seemed to last way longer than 31 days. But even amongst all the bad, as always, there were good things. And even though I might have dragged my feet a little bit to collect them, they were still there, and they still filled my heart with all that good stuff.

So here’s to January, the marathon that it was, and here’s to February, who we hope jumps at the chance to be far better.

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1) Reese Witherspoon was surprised with a package from Jay-Z and Beyonce.

View this post on Instagram

Thank you, @Beyonce for the #IvyPark swag!

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2) This duck played the drums.

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3) New Zealand supermarkets launched “food in the nude”, which eliminates plastic packaging from all fruits and vegetables.

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4) The city of Vienna started an incentive program that rewards commuters who take public transportation with concert and museum tickets.

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5) This dog finally caught his ball

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6) Exciting new technology was introduced at CES 2020.

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7) The manager of Athletes Village for the 2020 Olympics revealed the bed frames are made of sturdy cardboard, making them recyclable after the Olympics and Paralympic Games.

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8) This family created an epic obstacle course.

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9) This teacher in India started taking students to school so they wouldn’t drop out.

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10) This woman received a hug from a grateful kangaroo.

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11) American Girl launched the first doll to ever represent girls with hearing loss.

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12) This father and son shared their tradition of taking the homeless out to lunch each week.

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13) This man believed.

 

14) Researchers in South Africa announced they have created a second embryo of a nearly extinct species of rhino.

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15) These boys played ping pong.

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16) These volunteers drove people to work in rough weather conditions.

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17) This man rode over 1,400 miles to thank a family whose son’s heart saved his life.

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18) These American firefighters were applauded as they arrived in Australia to help fight the wildfires.

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19) This man bought a Super Bowl ad to thank the company that saved his dog’s life.

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20) This family moved into their new home.

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21) These students pooled their money to replace their teacher’s stolen shoes.

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22) This man (as well as hundreds of thousands of others) shared his story about the positive impact Kobe made in his life.

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23) This boy rode a unicorn.

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24) This brewery put local shelter dogs on beer cans to help them get adopted.

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25) This cat…spoke?

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26) This boy made clay koalas to raise money for Australia and has so far raised over $100,000.

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27) Alyssa Nakken became the first female in history to be hired as coach on a major league baseball staff.

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28) This adorable boy known as @theshirleytempleking won the hearts of Instagram

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29) This man found an old VHS tape of a baby taking its first steps, then tracked down the family it belonged to.

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30) This man used his coffee to rescue three frozen kittens.

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31) And finally, this blogger/author tweeted a very important reminder.

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You can view the last edition of this series here.

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31 Good Things that Happened in January

Hello and welcome back to another edition of All the Good Things, a monthly series where I highlight all the good things (get it?) that happen in each 30-day (or so) span. I hope it can be a reminder that amongst all the well known bad, there is a lot of undercover good happening in our world.

Let’s dive right in!

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1) This baby became a hair model

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2) This boy called 911 to get help on his homework

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3) NASA found three new planets

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4) These Indian women made a human chain for equality

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5) This comedian and musician composed a would-be theme song if Wii Jogging was included in Wii Sports…

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6) …it’s actually part of a series he’s released over the last two years and they are all wonderful.

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7) This professional hockey player sent an inspirational message to a fan

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8) Roma actress, Yalitza Martinez, was nominated for her very first Academy Award

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9) This youth group cleaned up national parks during the government shutdown

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10) This man helped save a woman’s life with CPR he learned watching The Office

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11) This standup comedian starting offering daily tips to other comedians

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12) New York City banned foam containers

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13) This dad built an igloo

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14) This woman tracked down her fairy godmother

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15) These Canadian air traffic controllers sent pizza to their American counterparts

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16) Retired major league pitcher, Mariano Rivera, was voted into the Hall of Fame

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The moment that Mo made history. 🐐

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17) This woman asked the drunk driver who hit her to help raise awareness

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18) This woman gave us all an incredible life hack

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19) Actor Jonah Hill shared an inspirational message about his new hobby

View this post on Instagram

I started Brazilian Jiu Jitzu 2 months ago and try and train 4 or 5 times a week. In high school the dudes who did Jiu Jitzu used to beat the shit out of us at parties so it turned me off to it as an idea growing up. But quietly I always thought it was a beautiful art form . At 35 , I try and get over the stuff that made me feel weak and insecure as a teenager. It’s just wasted time and lessons you’ll never learn. Trying to let go of that. Nothing more humbling than getting your ass kicked by a 12 year old your first week . Got my first stripe today. I know it sounds corny but it’s pretty dope to jump in and do stuff you’d never think you’d be able to do. Much respect to Sensai Josh and @clockworkbjj and Anthony for getting me into it ❤️ 🥋

A post shared by Jonah Hill (@jonahhill) on

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20) This mailman helped prevent a package from being stolen

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21) A GoFundMe page for this Fyre Festival victim raised $100,000

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22) This boy made progress

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23) Actor Patton Oswalt turned an online attack into an opportunity for outreach

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24) This UCLA gymnast wowed with an amazing floor routine

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25) Marvel agreed to let this dying fan see the new Avenger’s movie early

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26) Snoop Dogg provided incredible commentary for a Los Angeles Kings game

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27) These people showed up for a veteran’s funeral

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28) This dog learned to pet a cat

 

29) This company gave tailored suits to those in need

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30) This man converted his van into a mobile library

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31) This man did yoga with his pig

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Wanna know the best part? There is SO much I didn’t include.

I can’t wait to see what February brings!

You can view last month’s post here.

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31 Good Things that Happened in January (2017)

2016 seemed to be a rough year. Both globally, nationally, and, for millions, personally. So by the time December 31st came rolling around, just about everyone was ready to see it go up in flames.

On January 1st however, as we rang in a new year with new possibilities, suddenly I saw an influx of positivity towards 2016. Videos and articles alike began to share the undercover good things that happened amongst the well-known bad. And while this made me happy, it also felt like too little, too late.

Because yes, it’s true that 2016 was riddled in hardships and hate, but there were also mounds of love and kindness and I wonder if we could have made the year better if we spent more time focusing on the good rather than the bad.

I remember seeing posts in September of people saying they couldn’t wait for the year to be over. But they were talking about it being a wash when there were over 100 days left. This got me thinking. How many good things went unnoticed in those 100 days? How many smile inducing, belly laughing, happy-crying things happened when so much of the world was throwing in the towel?

Which brings me here, to now, where I hope to showcase those good things, so they no longer go unnoticed. So, I’m making it a tradition at the end of every month, to post a collection of good things that happened within those 30 or so days.

I hope they make you smile. I hope they make you laugh. I hope they make you cry. Honestly, I hope they make you do all of those things at once, because sometimes, when the world gets us down the best thing we can do is smilacry, smlaughcry? I don’t know. I just think sometimes we need to feel all the feels that are different, better feels than the feels we’ve been drowning in lately. You know what I mean?

So here’s to 2017. Let’s try our best make it good, and make sure to notice when we succeed. To kick us off, here are 31 good things that happened in January:

1) This high school kicker became the only female player to score a point in a California State Championship game.

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2) Lena Dunham & co were on the cover of Cosmo & used the press to make a statement about body positivity. (via @lenadunham)sub-buzz-15920-1483484119-1“Thank you to the women in Hollywood (and on Instagram!) leading the way, inspiring and normalizing the female form in EVERY form, and thank you to @glamourmag for letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere today ❤️ Love you all”

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3) Forbes released its 30 under 30 list, giving everyone a burst of inspiration. (via Forbes)30u30-collage_720-6column-960x555px

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4) The Orlando City Soccer Club unveiled a 49 seat pride section at their stadium to honor the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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5) After 8 year old Noah Alejandro Fulmer was hit by a truck, leaving him critically injured and seriously pissed that EMT’s had to cut off his JJ Watt jersey, the Houston Texan himself visited Noah in the hospital, with new jerseys to boot! (via Bleacher Report)

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6) The Girl Scouts announced the upcoming release of their new S’more cookies as part of their 100 year anniversary!screen-shot-2017-01-29-at-8-51-06-pm

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7) This dog played hide and seek

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8) Twisted released a recipe & tutorial for pizza waffles. I repeat: Pizza. Waffles.

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9) YouTuber Mike Boyd posted this video, reminding us there is always something to new learn.

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11) Frenchman Robert Marchand set a cycling record at 105 years old

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12) This boy melted hearts by arriving to meet his new niece in his Sunday best. (via Buzzfeed)

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13) Pharrell made this fantastic statement on Ellen (via The Ellen Show & Buzzfeed)sub-buzz-21061-1483653179-3

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14) This hairdresser sat on the floor so that an autistic boy could feel comfortable getting his hair cut. (via Love What Matters)15781110_1360469510642110_712809969462426871_n

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15) After growing out his hair for 2 years, this 10 year old boy donated it to make a wig for  his friend with Alopecia. (via Buzzfeed)

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16) Matt Bonner retired from the NBA in the greatest way possible.

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17) The 74th Golden Globes celebrated the well deserving talents of 2016. (photo via LA Times)la-et-mn-golden-globes-2017-nominees-winners-list-20161212

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18) Thousands of people participated in “No Pants on the Subway Day” (via Improv Everywhere)no-pants-subway-ride-berlin-copy-1

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19) A cashier in Temecula took the time to make this little boy’s day. (via Love What Matters)

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20) Ed Sheeran covered the Prince of Bel Air Theme Song

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21) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Daymlk-quote-7

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22) After adopting their dying neighbor’s 3 children, this family got a well deserved surprise. (via Little Things)

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23) Betty White turned 95 (via Us Weekly)477966844_betty-white-zoom-8ebb6973-9734-4ae5-9490-0d7cba455794

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24) Captain American pranked comic fans with a surprise escape room

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25) Girl power went global (photo via New York Post)

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26) This guy sewed a replica Belle dress to propose to his girlfriend. (via Huffington Post)587e7c911700009f0a92a9e2

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27) Using an exoskeleton, this quadriplegic man took 826 steps! (via Reddit)ifcaaxnbfmlzy_o77eviy1jgfpbpbrlksratt4f-jfg

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28) #NationalComplimentDay flooded social media with positivity

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29) Marcos paid it forward with Redbox.

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30) Supermodel Ashley Graham shared a picture of her cellulite to remind everyone to love the skin you’re in.

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31) The kids of Stranger Things melted our hearts again at the SAG Awards

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Wanna know the best part? There is SO much I didn’t include.

I can’t wait to see what February brings.

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