The news has always had a habit of being a bit dark and gloomy. Some people say that that’s because it’s the news—they report on the anomalies, the bad things that happen in a sea of good things, because good things are the norm. I would like to believe that good things really are the norm. And I know that tragedies, in a twisted sort of way, will always be seen as “better” for news ratings than reporting on every single thing that went right in a given day. That’s just the way that it is and I get it. There’s no harm in being informed about the things going on in one’s own country, as well as around the world, especially when tensions everywhere are so high.

But this past week especially has been so, so dark. Not without good reason. The recent events happening in the USA, namely the tragedy of Charlottesville, are horrifying and the rise of violence is certainly something that should be noted and condemned. I’m not saying that I want to be ignorant to what is going on in my country and around the world. Being informed is paramount in this day and age, even if the information we’re being drenched in is, for lack of a better word, depressing.

Some balance would go a long way though. Some spots of good news amongst all the reports, tweets, and statuses of the bad news would really be helpful, in my humble opinion. Not that we should stop reporting on the dark things happening, but that we should also throw some light things out there too. I try to make a majority of my articles meaningful and impactful in one way or another and I think that what that means this week is to just throw some good news out there into the mix. So here are a few cute, simple, stories and things going on lately that made me smile:

1. Kesha released a new album and it is amazing: If you’ve been watching and keeping tabs on celebrity news, you know that Kesha has been in an ongoing legal battle with record labels and that this album means so much more than just new music. The album shows that she has reached a certain level of personal and emotional freedom, on a very simple and surface level it is a super enjoyable album. There is a huge range of style present in this album and I think it's a kind of musical flexibility that Kesha, up until this point, wasn't ever allowed to truly show. It's definitely worth the listen if you're on the lookout for new music.
   
   
   
2. Apparently the Spider-Man:Homecoming movie poster is just a photo of Tom Holland napping: Maybe this isn’t news to everyone else but it certainly made me laugh. Tom Holland, the new face of Spider-Man, was sleeping between takes on sets and the photographer snapped a photo of it, and that was what they decided was going to be the central advertising image for the film. I think that the story behind how the photo came to be is just about the most Spidey-esque thing I’ve ever heard of.
   
   
   
3. The Solar Eclipse is almost here: Nature is just really cool, isn’t it? The fact that we use science to be able to predict when this kind of stuff is going to happen and people everywhere just get so excited about it is great to me. Even people who aren’t usually into that sort of thing get kind of hyped about it and it’s just really reassuring to me that when all else fails we can sort of rally happily around natural phenomena. So tune in on August 21st!
   
   
   
   
4. This man put in a huge pool in his back yard specifically for the kids in his neighborhood: Keith Davidson, who lost his wife of 66 years to cancer last year, installed an in-ground pool in his back yard and told everyone that it was, for all intents and purposes, a public pool. He was determined to not let the loneliness and loss take over his life, and he made something good out of it. Considering that his town up until this point didn’t have anything quite like that, kids came from all over to enjoy themselves. At 94, Davidson has brought some joy back into his own life, but also into the lives of the families in his town as well.
   
   
   
5. Wonder Woman is getting her own roller coaster: You read that correctly. Wonder Woman, the superhero who broke all sorts of records with her new film and has brought joy to comic book fans for years and years now, is getting her own amusement park installment in the Six Flags in San Antonio, Texas. While I’m in New York and won’t be able to enjoy what I’m sure will be am amazing and intense ride, nothing brings me joy quite like seeing good superheroes getting the kind of recognition they deserve. The movie was an emotional roller coaster, so hopefully the new ride is just as intense!
   
   
   
6. I got pictures of this really cute dog while I was on vacation last weekend: This isn’t really “news” but it should be. Look how cute!
   
   
   
   I know that the world can seem like a dark place sometimes, and that the constant flow of disheartening news can be a lot to handle. There's no shame in needing to step back and take a breather from being constantly bombarded with hardship. Just remember--no matter how many bad things are going on, there are good things happening too.