The Top 5 Good News Stories from Texas You Need to Read
Howdy there,
We are Texas is Life, a lifestyle brand borne out of frustration with the mainstream media’s seeming hyper-focus on the negative, criminal, and political. We only talk about the good things happening in Texas, events (even online ones), good deeds, and other stories that lift up the spirits of all Texans. We also make hella dope (am I cool yet?) Texas shirts and other things with Texas graphics / sayings on them to support our work instead of punishing readers with tons of ads.
Many of us are still spending a lot of time at home right now, even as Texas starts to open back up. If you get on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or even YouTube during all of this you are getting inundated with fake news from that one person in high school you sort of remember seeing a few times, your second cousin, and an old college friend. And if history is a good teacher, this is probably only the beginning. 2020 on social platforms is starting to look a heck of a lot like 2016, except arguably even worse. Social Media was already a drain on your emotional well-being, but now, now it’s like pulling out a hammer and smashing yourself in the head over and over while you mindlessly scroll through the chaotic screaming and yelling. (If you’re not already following pages like ours that refuse to discuss politics or negative news, you should get on that.) [Follow us here — Facebook | Instagram]
That’s why we’re making this post on Medium, because y’all like to read here and we love to put the best stories of Texas and Texans on display for the world. It is our hope that these stories help lift your spirits a little and fight back the negativity of the world we’re all getting shoved in our minds. Below we’re placing, in no particular order, some of the absolute best stories to happen in Texas recently.
Story 1: From Teacher to Mother
Story headline: Texas teacher takes in former student with special needs and throws him his first birthday party
Publication date: September 27th, 2019
Link to story: https://texasislife.com/texans/texas-teacher-takes-in-former-student-with-special-needs-and-throws-him-his-first-birthday-party/
Summary: A Texas man with special needs was found wandering the streets of his hometown in Gatesville, TX. Police discovered that his father and caretaker had fallen terribly ill and was no longer able to care for the man who functions at the level of a 6 year old. They sought out a suitable caretaker and found his old middle school teacher. When she heard about her former students situation she decided to take him in. She discovered he had never had a birthday or other celebration and after his father passed away decided to give him a big birthday party.
Story 2: A Houston Rapper With a Big Heart and a Big Truck
Story headline: Houston Rapper Trae Tha Truth Spent All Day Helping People Trapped in Flooding
Publication date: September 20th, 2019
Link to story: https://texasislife.com/texans/houston-rapper-trae-tha-truth-spent-all-day-helping-people-trapped-in-flooding/
Summary: Tra The Truth is a Houston, TX based rapper that shrugs off past controversies and the idea of what it means to be a rapper by being a very visible and influential part of his community. When Tropical Storm Imelda hit the Houston are and caused massive flooding, Trae gathered his friends together in jacked up trucks and SUV’s to cruise around and help people who were trapped and stuck including the elderly.
Story 3: The 12 Year Old Who Saved Christmas for Kids With Cancer
Story headline: This 12 Year Old North Texas Girl Has Gathered Over 36,000 Toys for Kids With Cancer
Publication date: December 9th, 2019
Link to story: https://texasislife.com/texans/this-north-texas-girl-has-gathered-over-36000-toys-for-kids-with-cancer/
Summary: At age 7 this Dallas area girl was fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia. During her fight she began to wonder if other kids fighting cancer were visited by Santa Claus at Christmas. That year she started collecting toys to donate and has kept going and growing for 5 years now. Today at age 12 a non-profit foundation shares her name and her vision enlisting the help of hundreds of adults, businesses, and kids to run the annual toy drive that collects nearly 20,000 toys for kids with cancer each year.
Story 4: A Texas Neighborhood Unites in One Voice to Fight the COVID-19 Coronavirus
Story headline: A neighborhood in Katy, TX came together to sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” in Their Driveways
Publication date: March 31st, 2020
Link to story: https://texasislife.com/texans/a-neighborhood-in-katy-tx-came-together-to-sing-deep-in-the-heart-of-texas-in-their-driveways/
Summary: As stay at home orders went into effect in Katy, TX one group of neighbors put aside their differences and stood on their driveways to sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas”. While this isn’t the official state song of Texas, it is known and loved by all Texans. If you don’t live in Texas this might be tough to comprehend, but this is a very moving gesture by the neighborhood.
Story 5: A Beloved Celebrity and His Family Spend an Evening Hosting a Virtual Bingo Night for the Elderly
Story headline: Matthew McConaughey and family host a virtual bingo game for Texas seniors in isolation
Publication date: April 7th, 2020
Link to story: https://texasislife.com/texans/video-matthew-mcconaughey-and-family-host-a-virtual-bingo-game-for-texas-seniors-in-isolation/
Summary: Matthew McConaughey is a Texas born movie star, a professor of fine arts at the University of Texas at Austin, and an all around really good person. There is no group more vulnerable to COVID-19 closures than the elderly who on top of being the most at risk of from this new disease are also cut off from their families, the outdoors, and doing the things they love. Mr. McConaughey and his family spent an evening trying to help lift their spirits by hosting a virtual bingo night.
The above are our top 5 favorite, most uplifting stories from Texas in recent memory. If you want to check out more great Texas news and interesting stories please see our categories: Texans | Sports | Food | Life | Outdoors | Business & Tech | Culture
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