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Woman and her daughter pulling a suitcase and a woman sitting next to a plane window.
Uplifting News

Plus-size Plane Passenger Refuses to Give Up Extra Seat to Toddler - Strangers "Weigh In"

Flying may be the quickest way to travel but it isn't always the most comfortable. The seats are small, legroom is almost non-existent, and there's always that one annoying passenger in front of you who seems to find extreme enjoyment in testing the limits of just how far back that reclining seat can go. Airlines are notorious for cramming in as many people as possible in the smallest spaces possible, which can be especially difficult for plus-sized passengers.

Strangers Ruthlessly Humiliate Man Who Was Dancing - His Bullying Attempt Backfires
Motivation

Strangers Ruthlessly Humiliate Man Who Was Dancing - His Bullying Attempt Backfires

In today's world, anyone can be a bully. The psychology of bullying shows that while people thrive on making others feel bad about themselves, the reality is that they are projecting their own insecurities on others. In the era of social media, it's easier for bullies to target their victims when everything and everyone is so accessible. However, one photographer's attempt at bullying backfired when strangers on the Internet rallied against his actions.Shamed just for dancing and having fun Imagine going out to dance and enjoy your night only to be shamed for it by a complete stranger. That's what happened to Sean who was simply enjoying a fun night out when someone decided to humiliate him by taking a picture.The photographer then posted that photo online and used the ugly caption: “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”Mean begets mean, and after the horrible post went online, the social media bullying began to a terrible degree. The post went viral, but in the process, other responses began as well - this time, of friendship, love, and compassion.The Internet took matters into its own handsAn Internet wide search was conducted, and eventually with the power of Twitter, they found the "Dancing Man," whose real name is Sean. A group of 1,727 ladies from California decided to throw him his own dance party and captioned the event "Can't bring me down." A fundraising page was set up for this campaign and raised $33,000. When Sean logged into his account online, he was overwhelmed by the kind responses, proving that as vicious as social media can be, it can also be a place of refuge. Even celebrities like Pharrell Williams, Ellie Goulding, and Cher Lloyd have showed their support and offered encouraging words to Sean.Stand up for othersSean's experience with cyber-bullying that fortunately had a positive, heartwarming result. However, not all stories can have such a happy ending. It's important to always stand up for those who can't defend themselves. A little positive encouragement can instill a lot of confidence is someone, proving that love always wins over hate.More uplifting stories: Police Officer Adopts Severely Abused 8-Year-Old Boy After Rescuing Him From CaptorsPolice Officer Adopts Abused Toddler After Rescuing Her From Unsafe HomeDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others

Woman Brutally Dumped For Being Overweight Gets The Last Laugh
Exercise

Woman Brutally Dumped For Being Overweight Gets The Last Laugh

One woman gave her shallow boyfriend a taste of his own medicine.Overweight and ashamedJosie, 29, of Los Angeles, tells Truly that her weight has always been a burden."I've always been overweight. I was always the fat kid in school. I was always the fat friend. I was never asked out to a school dance. I didn't exist"- JosieJosie hit rock bottom shortly after New Year's when her boyfriend dumped her, ending their three-year relationship. She weighed over 300 pounds at the time and says he left her because of her size.Taking chargeHowever, instead of letting the breakup bring her down, it instead was just the wake-up call she needed. "Something in me said ‘let it go’ and that was definitely my turning point"- Josie She joined a gym and hired a personal trainer to show her how to work out and eat properly. She remembered feeling "lost" and "scared" when she walked into the gym for the first time, according to the Daily Mail.However, she pushed on and eventually became a fitness force. Three years and 140 pounds later, her cousin Lupe says that Josie is a completely different person."As the weight started falling off, I could see her attitude changing. The old her wasn't a happy person, and she needed to change," she says. Josie sums up her journey while posing in a bikini for the very first time."I was the girl my ex didn't want … so I became the girl he couldn't have"- Josie Love your skinWhen Josie she catches herself getting insecure from her loose skin, she's quick to remember that it's actually a badge of honor."It's OK if you have loose skin on your arms. It's OK if your inner thighs are loose. It's OK because you're beautiful. That's what makes you different."Josie says that she now sees the true meaning of her journey and how it empowered her. "My weight loss journey started as a revenge body to get back at my ex, but along the way, I realized it was not about him. It was about me"- Josie While the opinion of others might drive us forward, the real battle is within. As Josie's story shows, there's no sweeter victory. More uplifting stories: Four Years Ago, He Was A Starving Artist – Today, He’s Earning $1M And Giving Most AwayAbandoned In Dumpster As Baby, He Vows To Make Adoptive Dad Proud – Now He’s A MillionaireShe Was A Teenage Runaway And Homeless Mom – Today She’s A MillionaireBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others

How A Kidnapping Survivor Who Escaped From A Car Trunk Is Saving Lives
Everyday Heroes

How A Kidnapping Survivor Who Escaped From A Car Trunk Is Saving Lives

One woman used her terrifying car experience to increase safety for children worldwide.Uninvited visitorsJanette Fennell and her husband Greig were returning from an evening out with friends with their nine month old son Alex asleep in the back seat. As they exited their vehicle, two armed intruders wearing ski masks emerged, forcing them into the trunk of their Lexus. The intruders got into the car and peeled off. Unbeknownst to the Fennells, their son was alone in the front foyer. As Fennell told The Hustle, things felt bleak trapped in the trunk."I remember thinking, ‘This is it — this is how it’s going to end."- Janette FennellAn hour later, the car came to a stop. The perpetrators took the couple's money, jewelry and bank cards then slammed the trunk shut as they ran away. Then, through what Fennell called "divine intervention'," the couple managed to pry a strip of metal from under the carpet. “Greig reached over my body, found this little cable, and pulled it,” she recalls. “The trunk went bink and opened up.”The couple immediately called 9-1-1 and rushed home, where they thankfully found their son unharmed.On a missionAlthough her life gradually went back to normal, Fennell kept thinking about how easily her trunk trauma could happen to somebody else."I got to the point of being angry. I started to think, ‘This is ridiculous. Why is there no way to escape a car trunk?’"- Janette FennellAnd so, in the months that followed, Fennell went on a one-woman mission to make emergency release latches mandatory for all vehicles.She wrote letters to all major car manufacturers but received no reply.Fennell then sifted through thousands of news articles and court transcripts (This was B.G, Before Google) to get more data on "non-traffic vehicle accidents". She uncovered hundreds of deaths from those trapped in car trunks, the majority of whom were children playing or kidnapping victims.However, the biggest surprise was discovering that the automobile industry was aware of the problem but turned a blind eye because of profits."It had been brushed off by the auto industry for years. They just didn’t think it was worth the cost."- Janette FennellPop the TRUNCTo ramp up her efforts, Fennell launched the Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition, or TRUNC.Her efforts got the attention of state representatives. Ultimately, despite bellyaching from Big Auto, a bill was passed requiring that all new cars include an emergency trunk release.Be the changeFennell has since become nothing less than a car safety pioneer.She's created Kids and Cars, a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness around children and vehicle safety. You can thank them for safety innovations such as rearview cameras and seatbelt reminders for backseat passengers.It all started when Janette Fennell decided to not accept the status quo, and do everything possible to make the world a safer place. "If you look at any safety feature in your vehicle, just know there is somebody who fought and fought and fought to make sure that was there."- Janette FennellThe next time you notice a need for a change, remember that no one will make a bigger impact than you.Uplifting stories: Women Working At Same Restaurant Discover They’re Long-Lost SistersGay Couple Handcuffed For Kissing On The Beach, Outraged Crowd Halts ArrestDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeParis Hilton Didn’t Feel “Safe and Happy” In a Relationship Until She Met Carter Reum

Four Years Ago, He Was A Starving Artist - Today, He's Earning $1M And Giving Most Away
Motivation

Four Years Ago, He Was A Starving Artist - Today, He's Earning $1M And Giving Most Away

After four years of making under a living wage, the playwright of "Slave Play" on Broadway finally signed a couple of big contracts. Then, he decided to give hundreds of thousands away.Keeping theater aliveIn four years of making theatre, Jeremy O. Harris told The New York Times his total commissions amounted to just $22,000. But despite the pandemic in 2020, Harris signed a fashion deal as well as a two-year contract with HBO. He made nearly $1 million and immediately started giving it away.So far, he's contributed to a fund that gives two Black women playwrights $50,000 to work on a project, helped produce streamed versions of the plays "Heroes of the Fourth Turning" and "Circle Jerk," donated a collection of plays written by Black writers to 53 libraries, and offered 152 microgrants of $500 each to US-based playwrights. He's also taken up the cause of helping theater survive the pandemic by contributing to a relief fund and campaigning President Joe Biden to revive the Federal Theatre Project, a Great Depression-era program to fund live art. Harris said he wants to make sure we all have theater to return to when the pandemic is over.“Some might call it philanthropy, but I call it upkeep or maintenance."He's supporting diverse artGrowing up, Harris enjoyed the works of white writers, but wondered if anyone who looked like him had had success. As it turned out, they had, but few people he spoke to talked about Black writers."It was so exciting to see myself in Tennessee Williams, in Beckett and Caryl Churchill. But there came a point where I was like, “Wait, have Black people never done anything like this?” he told The Times. "And when I discovered that not only had they, but so many had done it to wild acclaim, and yet no one I talked to remembered that acclaim or knew those people, I knew that something had to be done about this cultural amnesia."So, with his freshly earned money, Harris wanted to support Black playwrights like him, including by helping two of them work on a project without having to do a side hustle."I wanted to give someone a living wage in New York," he said. "I wanted someone to feel excited about spending a year and a half, maybe two, working on one play, and not feeling compelled to work in a coffee shop or to write in a [television] writers’ room."He isn't exactly richThe money Harris made in 2020 is a lot for many Americans, but not much compared to other elites in the art world, especially when factoring in how little he made in the four years before this. He also doesn't know if this money will continue coming in, but he wanted to give the money away anyway."I don’t know if this money will be the only money I make for the next two years -- I don’t know what the decade will bring for me," he told The Times. "But I felt no qualms about giving this much of it away, because it is more money than I ever imagined I would make, and it’s also more money than I need. And so it feels imperative for me to work and imagine new ways to take care of the people around me."When asked if he considers himself a hero for helping others so soon after making it big, he said 'no.'"I would never say that about myself," Harris said. "For me it’s not heroic -- it feels like the obvious thing that a young artist without much to lose should be doing for their community."An inspiration for all Despite being a fresh entry into the million club, Harris took a huge risk. He doesn't know if he'll make a million next year, or even anything at all. Yet, he still chose to give. Contrary to what he says, he is a hero for doing this, and many others who are much richer than he is should take his lead. If they do, it'll undoubtedly help the world become a fairer place. More uplifting stories:Abandoned By Dad, Penniless Teen Vows To Support Mom – Now He’s A MillionaireThis Boss Just Gave $10 Million in Holiday Bonuses to His 198 EmployeesDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others

Brave Chaplain Runs Into Burning Notre-Dame to Save Priceless Relics
Everyday Heroes

Brave Chaplain Runs Into Burning Notre-Dame to Save Priceless Relics

As the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris burst into flames, the world watched helplessly; shocked and saddened about the history and art that was being lost. Meanwhile, one man jumped to attention and tried to salvage the irreplaceable.A French chaplain named Jean-Marc Fournier, who serves with the Paris Fire Brigade, ran into the burning cathedral and was able to rescue the Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns before they too were lost in the flames."Father Fournier is an absolute hero," a member of the emergency services said. "He showed no fear at all as he made straight for the relics inside the cathedral, and made sure they were saved. He deals with life and death every day, and shows no fear."Fournier insists on accompanying the Paris Fire Brigade into Notre-Dame, risking This is not the first time Fournier has risked his own life for the greater good.In 2004, he served with the armed forces in Afghanistan as a chaplain, surviving a deadly ambush. Fournier also bravely ventured the Bataclan music venue in Paris in 2015, after ISIS killed 89 people during an Eagles of Death Metal concet, to pray for those who had lost their lives and comfort those who were injured and grieving.The items he saved from Notre Dame this week are priceless. The Crown of Thorns has been in Paris for almost 800 years now, and thanks to Fournier, it still remains.A few other priceless artifacts were preserved, including the three iconic Rose stained glass windows from the 13th century and the Great Organ.While the destruction at the Notre Dame is no doubt devastating, the stories of people rising in the face of tragedy and doing what they can remains so inspirational for all of us.