You may have achieved the conventional idea of success by having the corner office with a six-figure salary, but none of that matters if you aren’t enjoying and loving what each individual day is like.

One of the most harmful things you can do for your happiness is live by another person’s expectations and desires. Once you take some time to figure out what is truly important to you, you can adjust your efforts to achieve your version of the perfect life.

Take a look at these 5 steps for creating your dream life.

5. Imagine your ‘perfect’ day.

Write down exactly how your perfect day would go from the moment you wake up to the time you fall asleep.

Maybe you’d ideally be waking up 30 minutes earlier, exercising before work, or even going to a completely different job. Whatever your ideal day entails, write it all down. No desire or aspiration is too lofty in this dream day.

4. Write down every aspect of your normal day that wouldn’t be part of your ‘perfect’ day.

After writing out what the perfect day looks like, write down what reality looks like. How different are those days?

Maybe you typically wake up late feeling exhausted, or you spend too much time glued to your phone. Write down every and all aspect of your normal day that you wouldn’t include in that perfect day.

3. Figure out how to remove those things from your life.

Some things will obviously be easier, quicker fixes, and others will require more time and planning. However, you have the chance to make your day look more like your ideal life each day.

If you want to wake up earlier feeling refreshed with more time to workout or eat a healthy breakfast, the fix could be as simple as going to bed earlier without the TV playing as you fall asleep. If your ideal day includes some more major changes like waking up in a different city, figure out what steps you can start today to make that a reality.

Putting off the initial steps, however small or seemingly insignificant, will only ensure that your perfect day is never achieved.

2. Regularly remind yourself of your own version of ‘perfection’.

Every person has a different opinion of what perfection and success look like, so there’s no reason you should be trying to live your life according to someone else’s version of success.

When you feel yourself getting caught up in other people’s expectations and putting unnecessary pressure on yourself take some time to remind yourself what’s important to you and how you want to live your life.

1. Repeat.

The best way to actually make your dream life a reality is by repeating these steps as often as you need to see change. Maybe try repeating steps 3-5 once a week to remind yourself what aspects of your life need more attention, and to prevent falling back into old habits and patterns that don’t reflect your vision of happiness.

When you repeat these steps, you’ll start to notice and find motivation in the fact that the list of things you need to change to have a perfect day will start to shrink as you make changes in your life.

How different does is your reality from your version of the perfect day? Share with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: dancing_through_life via weheartit.com]

Bubba and Fiona are two adorable Pug siblings who have the same birthday. For their sixth and seventh birthdays, their family decided to throw a birthday party with ice cream, candles, and of course, singing.

When their family started to sing happy birthday, the two got to show off their incredible singing voices

Bubba and Fiona look a little confused as the festivities begin, and the family starts singing happy birthday.

However, they soon start singing along with their family in barks, yelps, and rumbles.

The talented duo were completely confused, however, when asked to blow out the candles.

Watch the entire video below to hear these talented Pugs sing happy birthday to each other.

What would you do if your pet started to sing along with you? Share with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: Stacy Klemas]

There are underwater museums all over the world, some which were built intentionally, and others were landmarks that sunk and were turned into attractions.

I personally have only been to above land museums, so when I saw there were underwater ones, I was pretty amazed.

There are six in particular that stand out above all the rest, and if you happen to visit these places, these underwater museums should definitely be stops during your trip.

1. Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park

This underwater museum is located beneath Moliniere Bay, Grenada, and it is there that globetrotting artist Jason deCaires Taylor crafted 65 concrete-and-rebar figures—a combination of human forms and still lifes. A snorkeling tour through the marine area allows travelers to get a fish’s-eye view of his works.

2. Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA)

Artist and photographer Jason deCaires Taylor’s work also lie in the heart of this museum located between Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico. MUSA for short is home to as many as 500 submerged whimsical sculptures.

3. Herod’s Harbor Underwater Museum

Located in Caesarea, Israel, a city that once served as a trade port for the Roman Empire, this museum lies 20 feet below sea level, and includes artifacts such as marble columns, anchors, shipwrecks from Phoenician and Byzantine eras.

4. Underwater Museum at Cape Tarkhankut

The underwater museum at Cape Tarkhankut is considered a must-see attraction in Crimea. Organized more than 15 years ago, the museum boasts a collection of busts of communist leaders and the heads of socialism throughout the history of the USSR.

5. Shipwreck Trail

Nearly a dozen sunken ships span across the shallow waters of the Florida Keys. This museum gives divers clues into maritime eras with submerged guides that encompass the vessel’s history.

Which underwater museum will you be visiting?

[Featured Image Credit: aquaworld.com.mx] 

Halloween is upon us, friends, which means its time to pull out your most creative costumes.

If you’re throwing a Halloween party, you can go with a typical theme, or no theme…OR you could be really creative and use one of the following awesome themes. That’s how you become known as a Halloween legend.

1. Rubik’s Cube Party

(This theme is best for a smaller party where most people know each other–ragers should shy away from this) Everybody comes wearing clothing in solid but mismatched colors. Throughout the party, people must exchange items until they create one, solid color…like a Rubik’s cube.

2. Blacklight Party

Everybody attending wears white and brings neon markers with them. You can also have neon paint, neon silly string, and neon jello shots. Blacklights make everything look extra bright and a little bit trippy. Everybody loves a good blacklight party.

3. Find The Alcohol

It’s like a treasure hunt. When you’re guests show up, leave a sticky note with a clue where the alcohol would usually be. Send them on a chase all around the party for it. Have everybody dress like a pirate.

4. Emoji Party

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

5. Dress Like You Drink

Correction: dress like your drink. Throw a BYOB party to save on some cash and have everybody bring a bottle that they dress like. Variations can get fairly creative. You’ll have your standard “red solo cup” costume, but you might also get a red-headed slut.

6. Pajama Party

What’s better than returning to the enjoyment of childhood by throwing a slumber party? Everybody comes in their cutest PJs.

7. Stoplight Party

Everybody wears red, yellow, or green. Red means stop (in a relationship), yellow means maybe (it’s like the “it’s complicated” relationship status on Facebook), and green means go.

8. One Night Stand

Remove all chairs from the party. Place a night stand in the center of the room. Tell terrible puns all night. Have everybody dress punny.

9. TV Show Party

Dress like your favorite TV character. You can get really creative with this theme and make it a Harry Potter party, for example, or can can make it a throwback party where people must dress like 90s characters.

10. Thrift Store Party

Guests have to raid a thrift store and come up with the most creative costume. Winner gets a bottle of wine (or something alcoholic).

I went to one of these parties a few years ago and the winner was dressed like a lighthouse. He found some boat shoes and a sailor shirt at the local thrift store, and wore those with some brick-patterned leggings he got from a flee market. He then wore a top hat with a mining light wrapped around it. For the next three years, he was known as “that lighthouse kid.”

[Featured Image Credit: Rant Chic]

Matt McDevitt used to have bad blood. But thanks to a bone marrow transplant, he now has good blood.

McDevitt is a Los Angeles based filmmaker and writer who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, two different rare blood diseases, in 2014. This came three months after he married his wife Stephanie, according to TIME.

The McDevitt’s spent their first year of marriage in and out of hospitals and clinics. Matt began a blog about the experience while undergoing blood transfusions 2-3 times a week and chemotherapy for a treatment plan similar to one that cancer patients undergo.

In March of this year, he was able to receive the bone marrow transplant he needed. His sister was a match and Matt found the good blood he needed.

Matt received his “good blood” on March 11, and was quickly back in action:

Matt combined his experience with his filmmaking skills and created a hilarious Taylor Swift parody to raise awareness of “bad blood.” According to TIME, Matt was inspired to write the parody when he woke up one morning singing “Bad Blood,” but replacing the phrase with the words “good blood.”

The McDevitt’s recorded the song in a friend’s recording studio and shot the cute video over Labor Day Weekend. They are trying to raise awareness of blood diseases and are asking people to join the bone marrow registry. With 20,000 views, the video is catching on and the McDevitt’s are raising awareness. Let’s get that number up even higher.

Watch how the McDevitt’s handled their own bad blood:

[Featured Image Credit: Kevin McDevitt via Youtube]

We typically consider it bad manners to talk with a mouth full of food, but this adorable Porcupine named Teddy Bear gets a pass during his festive feast.

When Teddy Bear discovers his newfound love of pumpkin, he can’t resist chowing down, and telling us just how delicious it is!

When Teddy Bear first sets his sights on a cauldron full of pumpkins, he takes a few curious nibbles.

Before long, the tiny nibble turns into a full-fledged pumpkin binge.

Teddy Bear practically inhales the first pumpkin, and already has a second one lined up.

Watch the whole video below to hear Teddy Bear’s adorable squeaks as he pigs out on his new favorite food.

Can you believe how incredibly cute this porcupine is eating his festive meal.

[Featured image credit: Zooniversity1]

If time is money, and time is always running out, then money is always running out.

When I was in college, I had a few problems. They were all shiny, pink, and looked great on my feet. Yes, friends, I fell into the same trap that Carrie Bradshaw stumbled into a time or two. I had all these shoes, and no money (because of said shoes). I was literally on my way to becoming the woman who lived in her shoes.

But then, something strange happened. First, I realized my materialistic lifestyle was unrealistic and was only causing me to feel miserable due to the constant hustle created by the treadmill of hedonic adaptation. But then, something stranger happened. I got a job. A friend referred me to a clown company and every weekend I dressed up like Bubbles the Clown and went to children’s birthday parties preforming magic shows and painting faces.

In college, I took 5 classes, joined an academic fraternity, had an internship ever semester, tutored, was a part of the radio station, and I was a Resident Assistant. Having a job that only required me to work one day a week wasn’t just a blessing, it was a requirement. Of course, the work itself was awful, but it got me thinking, what other jobs are out there that require very little time commitment, but pay college students fairly well?

1. Party Motivator

A friend of mine used to work for a party company that supplied DJs and party motivators to bar/bat mitzvahs. She was paid to be the life of the party. She’d lead in the Cha Cha Slide, and encourage all the awkward 12 and 13-year-olds to get up and dance.

Pay: $30/hour

2. Tutor

Some tutors work in a college tutoring center, while others tutor the kids of wealthy executives. If you’re good with math and can get a gig in somebody’s home, you’re golden. Care.com is also pretty decent at finding you parents that are looking for tutors. The job pays pretty well for the time put in.

Pay: $10-$50/hr

3. Swimming Lesson Teacher

Certification to become an instructor will probably cost you about $10, but the pay-off can be pretty well. If you’re a good swimmer, you can get certified fairly easily. You can then privately work your way into somebody’s pool and get paid under the table, or you can be employed by a company.

Pay: $20-$50/hr

4. Clown

Personally, I tried this in college and it was quite an experience. Each weekend I dressed up as a clown and went around making balloon animals, painting faces, and performing magic shows in the city I lived in. (You won’t believe how many kids in New York City have birthdays). They hired me from a referral, paid me for training, dressed me up like Elmo, and sent me out there to figure it out for myself. It was scary, but it also taught me a lot of surprisingly useful life skills.

Pay: $25-$50/hr

5. Fitness Instructor

This is one of those jobs that does require previous experience, but it might surprise you how little you need. If you are already athletic and take an interest in group exercise classes, you might be close to being qualified. Instructor’s pay a fee (somewhere around $50) to get certified, and then they apply to studios and gyms that are looking for instructors. If you’re fit, it’s a good job that only requires a few hours a week.

Pay: $45-$75 for a one hour class

6. Bouncer

The only requirement for this job it that you have to be bulky and able to soberly stand around in a crowded bar on Friday night. Also, you have to break up the occasional fight. The hours are pretty bad. You’ll give up your Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays from 10pm-4am but it can also be great at helping you deal with all the other things packed into your schedule.

Pay: Minimum-$25/hr

[Featured Image Credit: News.com]

Celebrities live such lavish lives, that it’s easy to forget that many of them didn’t grow up having money.

Many of our favorite stars actually grew up poor, having to get many jobs to help out their families, not being able to afford food, and some even living on the streets.

Check out the inspiring journeys of 20 Celebrities Who Went from Dirt Poor to Rich:

Every year, adventurers travel to Black Rock City, Nevada for the annual Burning Man festival. At the end of their 9-day experience, festivalgoers are left with dusty belongings, and many times, missed love connections.

In an attempt to reconnect with playa romances in the real world, people post their stories to the legendary ‘Missed Connections‘ page on Craigslist. However, due to the setting of these chance encounters, each missed connections is more fanciful and extraordinary than the last.

For those unfamiliar to the ‘Missed Connections’ page, users typically include tags like ‘m4w’ to signify a ‘man looking for woman’.

Take a look at this year’s Burning Man missed connections:

5. Burning Man: Zeitgeist looking for Guess from the Ashram Galactica – m4w (Black Rock City)

I should say that I was hardly sober (very much to my determinant in this situation), but I understood your playa name to be Guess. A confusing, but beautiful name if that was correct…I gave you one of my LED hair lights and you gave me a ring light… I was on my way to meet you and your friends at a party at 4:30 and Esplanade, when I got a bit over whelmed by the beauty and chaos of the area, so I walked away to seek some calm off a side street when I got hit hard by my first severe white-out for 30-45 minutes…The romantic in me hopes that with any luck this message will reach you, otherwise I suppose like everything else out there, it will blow away like dust in the wind.

4. Crying under a crocodile at burning man. Mark, aka Fruit Salad – w4m (oakland downtown)

You were crying under a crocodile. I was with a couple friends who noticed. You had a purple (was it blue?) faux-hawk. We descended upon you and embraced and comforted you. We ended up back at your camp in a delirious state of sleep deprivation and substance come-down. You made us bacon and eggs and we lay down for a nap that became a bit of a sticky triangle…Are you out there? I remember you saying you lived in Oakland. I remember your playa name being fruit salad. I remember your hands, and all your bracelets, I remember your brown eyes, with their tears and their intensity. These are the only details I can recall to help me find you.

3. Twelve from Burning Man – w4m

I know this is a total longshot but we hung out Friday night after meeting at a camp “bar” A huge group of guys followed me around the playa calling me Queen until it was late and just the three of us. I named you Twelve. I guess I passed out and woke up confused then ran away. I wish I had stayed and spent the rest of the burn with you. I wish I could remember where you were from. Hopefully that wasn’t the last time I will see you. Also if you are Twelve give me some background details so I know it’s really you.

2. Looking for Ox from Burning Man – w4m

I feel a little silly posting this, but I really thought we would meet again. We met over by the big light up orb. You gave me some of your hair :). You had to leave to volunteer at Center Camp and came to say goodbye. Your energy was infectious and I’d like the chance to get to know you past the few sentences exchanged.

1. Burning Man Irish Bar mishap – w4m

Met at home brew joint in Center Camp at Burning Man on Burn Night–You were a Geologist from Orange County, me, a tax lawyer in Houston, Texas;. . ..had a date to meet at the Twisted Swan Irish Bar at 4:49 & F per iburn ap at 8:00PM, by the time I figured out it was a misprint and at 4:30&C, it was too late! I’m soooo bummed. You were a doll.

Can you believe some of these missed connections from Burning Man? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: Duncan Rawlinson/Flickr]

This adventurous couple took their Toyota FJ Cruiser and a GoPro, and travelled around the USA on a 28-day road trip.

They documented the whole trip using their GoPro 2, and Michal Kafara uploaded the video to his YouTube.

The five-minute long video shows clips of every destination the couple travelled to, but the stills are pretty awesome too:

New Mexico White Sands National Monument

Death Valley National Park, California

Horseshoe Bend, Page, AZ

Bryce Canyon National Park

Grand Staircase, Escalante National Monument, Utah

Yellow and Grand Teton Grand National Parks, Wyoming

Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

and Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Checkout the full video below:

How badly does this make you want to travel?

[Featured Image Credit: Youtube- Michal Kafara]

It turns out there’s a lot of people thinking about Bill Gates in the shower (er…kinda).

Reddit has a subsection dedicated entirely to the random and genius ideas people have in the shower and there’s an oddly high number related to Gates. Here are some of the best Bill Gates shower thoughts Redditors came up with that will make you stop and go, “hmmm…..”

Bill Gates has about $6 for every year the universe has existed – IAmJimmyNeutron

Bill Gates is worth about 73.4 billion soft tacos from Taco Bell – DayVeeGee

Bill Gates could accidentally misplace Donald Trump’s entire net worth ($3.5 billion) and not even be seriously financially affected-MrScant

Seeing as how both Batman and Ironman’s only real super powers are that they are super rich and very smart, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sure turned out to be disappointments-ImmaculateJones

Bill Gates probably has enough wealth to solely fund his own currency; he could call them Gates Bills-jpmartin43

In terms of the overall impact to our respective net worths, it’s probably cheaper for Bill Gates to buy a McDonald’s than it is for me to buy a burger-pretzelzetzel

Instead of using his fortune on charities, Bill Gates should just buy out medical and supply companies and produce formerly expensive goods as really cheap-lowballer31

Bill Gates has enough money to buy everyone in the world about 11 Cokes-bagofnothing

Bill Gates has made more money while having sex than any sex worker-prankshopz

Would a scandal involving Bill Gates be known as BillGate or GateGate?-EiplecOco

If the average human is worth 1 million dollars then Bill Gates is worth 50,000 humans-Spicey123

Bill Gates could fund 113 New Horizons-esque missions-jjake101

And the absolute best Bill Gates Shower thought:

Bill Gates can have literally anything he wants. Except for the new iphone-MCSchwanz

[Featured Image Credit: Claudio Toledo via Flickr]

Thinking about taking a vacation? You’ll want to avoid these destinations:

Everybody wants to be cultured and experience the world. But some destinations are better left unexplored. If you’re looking for culture, you can find it in any city and experience it in any number of ways. Don’t let your desire to do something typical influence you.

Some places are great vacation destinations while others will leave you feeling exhausted and stressed. Under the right circumstances some of the following places can be fantastic, however, there are some you’ll want to avoid on certain days of the year, and others you’ll want to avoid entirely…

1. Times Square on New Year’s Eve, New York

What’s better than standing around in New York for eight hours while you’re crushed by 8 million strangers? Doing it in the freezing cold to watch a sparkling ball “drop.” It doesn’t even drop, it moves and you can watch it move on television in your warm living room.

Avoid Times Square on New Years Eve at all costs. It’s very expensive, you can’t get out of the city after, and you’ll be standing for hours. You can’t even drink to numb the cold because then you’ll have to pee and you’ll lose your spot. And even if you’re okay with that, good luck finding a bathroom.

Opt for a party or dinner with friends instead. You can wear an attractive outfit (one that’s cuter than a parka) while you drink champagne and get a good view of Taylor Swift and friends singing on television.

2. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

Yes, it is a building with a poor foundation that leans in a cool way, but does this really make it culture? Is it possible that maybe it’s just a cool place to take pictures. Sure, you can go and take some obligatory photos of yourself holding it in place (because nobody has ever thought of that before). You can even photobomb the other tourists photos.

However, once you’ve done your standard photo-taking, there’s little to do there. The tower does in fact lean up to its name, however, if you’re coming all the way from Rome, it’s a long way to go just to see a slanted building.

3. Mardi Gras, New Orleans

New Orleans and Mardi Gras go together like peanut butter and mint jelly. Sure, pb&j were made for each other, but not like this.

You can go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and deal with the 1.2 million people that flock there each year for the holiday, or you could go a few weeks earlier for Carnival and experience the culture in a much better light.

4. The Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt

The Great Pyramids of Giza may be the most well-known pyramids in the world, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best. In fact, they can be so overrun with tourists and the views from them are so marred by modern Cairo that many travelers say they’re not even worth visiting.

5. Walt Disney World, Orlando (when you have young kids)

If you want to have a good time in Disney world, leave the kids at home or wait for them to grow up. Many will tell you Disney World is overrated to begin with. It’s hot, sticky, crowded, smelly, and Micky will have his hands deep in your pockets the whole trip.

Combine this with the fact that young kids will ether be scared of the rides or too cranky to appreciate them and you officially have a recipe for disaster. Wait until they reach at least age 7 before you bring them.

6. Mona Lisa at the Louvre, Paris

The Louvre holds some of the most famous paintings in the world, including its most famous, the Mona Lisa. Despite the wealth of art held in there, tourists routinely wait three hours just to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous work. It’s an incredible painting that’s worth the admiration, but can it really be properly appreciated in such a setting?

7. The Wax Museum, Literally Everywhere

Each city seems to have one. Why do these exist? So you can pay forty dollars to make your profile picture one of you sitting at the desk in the Oval Office with Obama behind you. Maybe all your friends will think you actually chilled with Obama or maybe they will just say, “oh, cool, he went to a wax museum. He must be so artsy and cultured.”

Don’t go to wax museums. Just don’t.

[Featured Image: Mental Floss]

It’s very easy to spiral down the rabbit hole of a Netflix binge.

One second, you’re drowsily turning on the computer for a few moments, and then the next, your eyes are glued to the screen at 4am and you’re on the 6th episode of Nip/Tuck. Popcorn is nosily crunching out the corners of your mouth. Your legs are tingling because you haven’t moved in six hours. Your vision begins to fade in and out as you try to turn it off.

But, oh no, autoplay is on. It doesn’t even ask for your consent. It simply keeps rolling and before you even know what’s happening, the binge keeps going. Another hour, and you black out surrounded doritos crumbs and shame.

You wake up the next morning bleary-eyed and wondering what happened. The remnants of last night linger. Cheeto prints litter the walls and a lamp shade is askew.

You scratch your head and wonder what happened. You can’t even remember what you watched. It’s all a flickering blur right now. You, my friend, are suffering from a Netflix hangover.

Take and Aspirin, go to work, and tonight, try these instead.

Work on an adult coloring book:

Listen to a good book:

…Because I already know you aren’t going to bother reading one.

Make a to-do list for tomorrow so your mind won’t wander as you try to fall asleep:

Make sure tomorrow’s outfit is on point:

That way, you can spend more time tomorrow ensuring your eyebrows are “on fleek.”

Write about your feelings:

Craft:

Take a long hot bath–because you won’t have time for that in the morning:

Call a friend or your Mom (she probably misses you):

Take a walk around your neighborhood:

[Featured Image Credit: Flickr]

When a North Carolina police officer was driving home from work, he came across a man sitting on the edge of a highway bridge.

The Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras caught the touching moment Raleigh Senior Officer D.V. Hicks pulled the man in for a long hug. “He was getting that hug whether he wanted it or not,” Hicks told CNN.

The cop slowly approaches the suicidal man and convinces him to get down from the ledge of the bridge.

Once he could get close enough, the police officer reached for the man’s arms, and helped him to safety.

In an incredible sign of compassion, the cop gave the man a big hug, and continued to hold his hand as they walked away from the ledge.

Watch the whole video below to see this inspiring video that shows the power of compassion.

Were you touched by this life saving interaction? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: Pinkvids01 via Youtube]

While it’s always sad when Summer comes to an end, you can be comforted that the most charming of all the seasons is approaching. You may have to say goodbye to late sunsets, beach days, and barbecues, but remember, you get to say hello to cozy sweaters, warm, delicious drinks, and pumpkin spice flavored everything.

Take a look at the top 17 reasons to stop mourning Summer, and start looking forward to Fall.

17. The summer heat and humidity finally break.

16. You can comfortably sleep at night without an the AC blasting.

15. …And not have to wake up in puddles of sweat every morning.

14. You finally having access to the other 75% of your wardrobe.

13. However, it’s still warm enough to not need a jacket just yet.

12. Getting all the apples you could ever want or need when you go apple picking.

11. Drinking hot apple cider.

10. Cuddling up in front of the fire with a good book (or movie if we’re honest).

9. Having an excuse to drink hot chocolate again.

8. Halloween.

7. Getting an extra hour of sleep for Daylight Savings Time.

6. Watching new episodes of your favorite TV show.

5. Thanksgiving.

 4. Having picturesque views wherever you are because the colors are just so vibrant.

3. Chunky Sweater Weather.

2. Mallomars are finally back.

1. Pumpkin. Spice. Everything.

And if you still need some inspiration to get excited about Fall, take a look at this incredible video, which shows just how beautiful this season can be.

What are you looking forward to during Fall? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: vk.com]

“LOL” is the universally accepted letters implying laughter (though recent trends say it should really mean “lack of laughter” since texters are rarely laughing when they type it).

Take a scroll through your recent text messages. When was the last time you typed out this trite expression? According to a recent study conducted by Facebook, statistics say you rarely use “LOL” and instead have replaced it with another form of virtual laughter (and yes, Facebook is now conducting research, the first of many steps in their attempt to rule the world).
If you’ve noticed you’ve stopped using “LOL,” you aren’t alone. Those three little letters are dying out and being replaced by other forms of laughter.

Instead, people are using other expressions to show hilarity online:

Emojis are catching up fast:

While researchers found that “haha” has far surpassed the ongoing streak of “LOL,” emojis may be closing in quickly. Instead of typing out a word or phrase to express laughter, many texters are simply using the Japanese inspired image to express feeling. It conveys an image much better than your average “haha,” or even a typical, “hehe.”

This trend isn’t limited to one area. Cities across the United States are dropping “LOL” like it’s a needy ex-boyfriend and moving over to the emoji fan club. Facebook plotted the kinds of laughter people are using in varying cities, and as a rule of thumb, most are opting out of saying “LOL,” and preferring emojis or “Haha.”

Where do you fit in with the changing laughter climate? Have you jumped ship and boarded the emoji bus, or are you still riding the wave of “LOL?”

[Featured Image Credit: Huffington Post]

It has been said that humanity’s ability to rise above all other animals has nothing to do with our intelligence. It is due entirely to our ability to communicate. When it comes to communication, humans really trump all other species. We started with our ability to develop simple networks, which led to intricate networks, which led to vast cities and civilizations, and finally resulted with the cell phone next to you right now. Our communication skills have peaked (well, maybe not) and we are currently at the highest point of communication evolutionary speaking. Yet with these advances, we also see a few downfalls. We find ourselves with many technological anxieties and here’s why:

Am-I-missing-an-important-email anxiety:

When your email is constantly next pressed up against your left butt cheek, it creates an environment where we are all expected to be available all the time (also we may one day see a rise in butt cheek cancer). If you leave your phone behind, there’s the constant fear of, “oh no, what if my boss is trying to contact me? What if I forgot something? What if I’m unavailable and I get fired for not being close enough to my phone to answer that important email and then I’ll have to sleep in a box next to Penn Station.” Obviously this over-exaggeration didn’t exist fifteen years ago, but the digital era has provided us with a new kind of work-related anxiety.

Why-are-they-not-texting-back anxiety:

Again, the average person is never more than three feet away from their cell phone (disgusting, right?). So when you text somebody, there’s a pretty good chance they heard it, and there’s the chance they might be ignoring you. Or, maybe they lost their phone, they’re in the shower, they went hiking, or they;re just fed up with all this technology and they’re going old school and replacing their cell phone with a tin can and yarn.
I’ve been noticing recently that this anxiety isn’t even unique to relationships of a romantic nature. I texted a friend a few weeks ago asking if I could have a ride from the train station and when she didn’t answer, I immediately assumed she hated me and wanted me to be beaten to death by the creepy hobo that lives under the platform. She ended up texting me back a few hours later saying she had turned her phone on silence to nap and was “so0o0o0o0o0o0o sorry.” Again, fifteen years ago this wouldn’t have existed.

Are-all-my-friends-hanging-out-without-me anxiety:

Have you ever signed onto Instagram or Facebook and seen all your friends hanging out without you? Or worse, have you ever gotten a snapchat from your friends while they’re hanging out without you? The digital era could easily be called the voyeuristic era. Not only do we have access to everybody’s lives online, we willingly send each other snapshots of our lives in real time. Think about how weird that would be forty years ago. Imagine your parents growing up, taking a picture on a polaroid and then immediately running to their best friends house down the street, shoving the photo in their friends face and saying, “hey, look what I’m doing right this second.” Why do we even do this? Do we want to make each other jealous or are we so insecure that we can’t be with people without showing other people, “hey look how cool and popular I am! Look what I’m doing right this second! Don’t you want to see what I’m doing?” Snapchat is about five steps away from that black mirror episode where people have cameras installed in their brains and videotape their entire lives.

Obviously, technology has greatly improved the quality of life and advanced humanity even further. But as “they” like to tell us, “all things in moderation.” Technology is great but don’t let it cause you unnecessary anxiety. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go watch the 200 second snapchat story of the guy who isn’t currently texting me back.

[Featured Image Credit: Matthew G via Flickr]

Who says you have to be human to experience the bliss of a water slide?

While most dogs would probably freak out and run away at the thought of a water slide, one dog took it on with the bravery and skill of an ancient warrior.

And just like the ancient warriors, little is known about this brave soul who took on his fears and conquered new heights. The fluffy hero anxiously made his way to the top, teetered for just a moment, and then slid down to the sparkling water below. It’s an inspiring feat. Possibly the best part of the video was the little hop into the water that comes at the very end. The adorable pooch goes flying off the slide, and directly into the water. Olympic diving judges would give him a solid 10/10.

Watch for yourself:

[Featured Image Credit: AFV Animals via YouTube]

One of the best parts about water activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, and kayaking is the ability to interact with nature, and see wild animals in their natural habitat. However, this couple got a shocking surprise when an afternoon of whale watching turned into a close encounter with the giant animal.

Luckily, the couple stayed calm while the whale lifted the entire kayak out of the water and held them beached on its body.

On a sunny afternoon, this couple went out kayaking, and from a distance, they noticed whales at the surface of the water.

As they watched from afar, one whale swam towards the couple, and they were able to see the incredible animal close up.

However, the whale got so close that it actually lifted the couple and the entire kayak up out of the water. They had to stay calm until the whale finally put them back down, and they could safely paddle away.

Watch the entire video below to see the incredible moment these kayakers have a close encounter with a whale.

What would you have done if a whale literally lifted you out of the water? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: gisela6652/Youtube]

Worried about how the family dog would take having a new baby sibling, these parents decided to keep the two apart for a few months just to be safe.

Those worries were quickly dispelled, however, as they became instant best friends the moment they were introduced.

At first, the hesitant Beagle approaches the baby with caution and sniffs around before walking away.

The dog went to lay down a few feet away, but the baby was not done investigating the new furry friend.

When the Beagle noticed the baby crawling closer, the gentle dog lays down and proceeds to stun the baby with dog kisses.

Watch the entire video below to see the moment these two meet.

Can you believe how good the Beagle is around this adorable baby? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[Featured image credit: Scott Moore]