My first thought when I see a positive story is: What’s the catch? That’s especially true around Christmas, the season these stories tend to crop up.
I’ve reported out plenty of stories that are not what they seem to be. But there are some stories that — after reporting on them — end up being as wholesome as they appear. During those occasions, I feel like there could be hope for us, after all.
Here are five stories this year that made me rethink my cynicism:
Traveling grief journals
I couldn’t believe how most of the world kept moving without a beat after one of my best friends died in a motorcycle crash when we were 19 years old. That indifference made me believe that the only people who’ll care about my death are my close family members.
Rebecca Fielding felt even more hopeless after her brother, Jonathan, died after accidentally falling off a cliff as a 19-year-old. She almost intentionally jumped off the same cliff two days later but instead left a notebook — including a note about Jonathan — in hopes that at least one person would learn about him.
Dozens of people have since written messages in the three notebooks Fielding has left near the cliff — including notes about their own grief. The story made me realize that, while one death might be overlooked, grief can bond us.
Fundraiser for gunman’s family
I was sure this story was a fluke when my editor messaged it to my team. I’ve found people don’t always forgive minor things — poor communication, broken promises and perceived slights from years ago — so I wondered: How could thousands of church members raise $200,000 for the family of a man who attacked their church?
Instead of feeling bitter toward the gunman’s family, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints thought about the struggles they would endure.
While I was initially uncertain about the morality of the donations, I realized it didn’t matter. The fundraiser showed me that empathy can be found even in tragic events.
Woman’s kidney donation to her ex-husband’s wife
At 29 years old, I’m not sure if I want to get married. So many couples are too complicated to get along for decades, I believe, and when a relationship withers, the couple’s love often turns into hatred.
That was the case after Amanda McCowen and Joshua Maples got divorced. Unsurprisingly, McCowen couldn’t stand Maples’s new wife, Angela Maples.
But their friendship grew over time, and in October, when Angela needed a kidney, Amanda donated her own. The trio and their children now eat dinner together and have game nights.
The story showed me that even if we’re bitter after breakups, there’s still space for our relationships with our exes (and their new partners) to grow in different ways.
Handwritten dad letters
I’m lucky to have a supportive dad who makes me feel better when I’m upset. He has served as a father figure for some of my friends who aren’t as fortunate. But Rosie Paulik, a woman from Ohio who also has a loving dad, wanted to expand her father’s supportive messages beyond a few friends.
She asked her father, Buz Ecker, to write letters to hundreds of people who don’t have good relationships with their fathers or whose fathers have died. Ecker wrote to strangers that he was proud of them. He supported them through their problems and offered dad jokes. Soon, the Dad Letter Project was born.
Unlike many online campaigns, this one appeared to have wholesome motivations: uplifting people while giving purpose to Ecker and other men who Paulik recruited to write the letters.
WWII veteran’s dream trip
Last year, as wars continued in Gaza and Ukraine, I overheard a college student say young people are living through more wars than other generations. I’m a zillennial — someone born between the millennial and Gen Z generations — and even I wanted to point out that war has been a part of life for every generation.
Sometimes it seems like people forget about a war — and the people harmed during it — once another war starts.
But when U.S. veteran Harry Humason wanted to return to the Czech Republic, the country he helped liberate from Nazi Germany during World War II, Czech citizens proved with their wallets that they didn’t forget his sacrifices. They helped Humason raise nearly $30,000 for what he called “a trip of a lifetime.”
The world is never perfect. It moves fast, and people and events are quickly forgotten. But this story and a handful of others from this year gave me hope that compassionate people are out there and we can spot them if we keep an eye out — even those of us who might need a little more convincing.
One last thing: In October, I wrote how my day with an extroverted shelter dog named HayHay taught me a lesson about trust. HayHay was adopted nine days after I took him out. He’s now living in Lanham, Maryland, with his new owner, who renamed him Shadow because he follows her everywhere, according to the animal shelter, Brandywine Valley SPCA. He has become best friends and a frequent cuddler with his owner’s other dog, Buddy, the shelter said.
I didn’t think I was the right person to adopt HayHay — he’s a social dog who would’ve been alone most of the day while I was at work — but I’m thrilled he found his home.
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