Positive News of 2019
Image Source: www.foundationforpositivementalhealth.com/
U.S. cancer death rate drops 27 percent in 25 years
Cancer prognoses are becoming more positive as the condition’s death rate continues to decline. According to latest studies by the American Cancer Society, American’s death rate caused by cancer has fallen by 27%. That’s roughly 2.6 million fewer deaths from cancer over the last 25 years!
Chicaco Strangers work together in providing shelter for the homeless
Candice Payne is truly a local hero of Chicago. Once she heard about the conditions that were to be brought on by the polar vortex, she immediately rented 20 hotel rooms with her own credit card and gave the homeless people a warm and safe place to stay. Her good deed didn’t go unnoticed, though. Once the people of Chicago heard of Payne’s good deed, many others started pooling their money together to pay for more and more rooms. Candice and her band of volunteers paid for 60 rooms altogether, housing 80 people for 3 nights, as well as setting up a temporary kitchen to make sure everyone was fed. How inspiring!
Formerly homeless teen finds success after many years of hard work
Dylan Chidick, 17, had always dreamed of going to college. But life had always been difficult for Dylan. After Chidick came to the U.S. from Trinidad at the age of seven, his mother had lost her job and they had no other choice but to live in a homeless shelter. After some time, they finally did find permanent housing, but through it all, Dylan had excelled at school. He became senior class president and in the Honor Society. "My family went through a lot and there has been a lot of people saying, 'You can't do that,' or 'You're not going to achieve this,' and getting these acceptances kind of verifies what I have been saying — I can do it and I will do it," he told CBS New York. Not only was he the first person in his family to go to college, but his hard work and dedication has gotten him accepted into 17 colleges!
Father uses the Mona Lisa and a paintbrush to teach life lessons to his daughter
When Laurence Cheatham’s daughter came to him and said she wanted to paint the Mona Lisa, but her fear was that it would be too hard, it sparked creativity. “I wanted to show her that with time, patience, and practice, she can do anything she sets her mind to,” he told Good Morning America. Cheatham works full-time as a security guard, and over three months, he would come home at night and work on a painting of his 9-year-old daughter as the Mona Lisa, and kept it hidden in a closet. After 400 hours of painting (wow!), Laurence surprised his little girl with his piece of art. She squealed in delight and thanked her dad profusely, said Cheatham. Although he has no formal art training, he finds painting “very therapeutic”, and wants his daughter to always remember “if you’re passionate about something, and it keeps you awake at night, you should always pursue it.”
All-women sailing crew is aiming to eliminate plastic in the ocean
Emily Penn, founder of eXXpedition, is fighting for cleaner oceans, free of plastic and any other debris. Penn, the founder of a female-only crew, calls herself an “ocean advocate”. She founded her all-women sailing crew after seeing how much trash ends up in the Earth’s water. The United Nations estimates roughly 13 million tons of plastic ends up in ocean waters every year, and “we need a multi-disciplinary and multicultural approach to solving this problem," Penn told Time. Her aim is to get more women onboard by studying toxic pollution and has personally led 11 scientific sailing expeditions! In October, Emily and the eXXpedition crew will set sail on an ambitious global research trip for 2 years. “We will share one ocean again regardless of where we come from, so this is an issue that transcends all political boundaries and borders,” Penn said.
What a great reminder to stay positive and see the good in others. Some of the best solutions to staying positive is to enjoy the happiness of others, and fill your days up with positive words and thoughts.