For a long time. I’ve wanted to do a weekly series, but I didn’t want to copy someone else’s idea or do something that wouldn’t fit me after a few weeks – then I came up with the Weekly Joy Report.
My Uncle Darin has ALS, and he started a brand called Go Find Some Joy and the “The Die Trying Vlog” to document his journey and raise awareness about ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Last Christmas he and my Auntie Denise gave everyone Go Find Some Joy merch, and its one of my favorite sweatshirts now. I was wearing it when I realized what I really want to record every week are the things, people, and events where I found some joy.
So with that – welcome to this week’s Weekly Joy Report!
1 | My grandmother was in her local paper
This past week, my Grammy Janet was interviewed by the Orange County Register in their article discussing the importance of capturing the oral histories of the people who remember the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On Aug. 6, 1945, my Grammy Janet was 11 years old and her name was Janet Tamura; she was a fourth-grader living on Mukaishima Island, roughly 60 miles east of Hiroshima City, Japan. She had just hung up a rag that she’d used to help clean a classroom when she saw a flash of light and, a few beats later, heard a deafening “thud”.
Growing up half-Black and half-Japanese, I was always aware of and deeply interested in the history of my two cultures. It’s a privilege and an honor to have my grandmother’s words (and super cute self look at her!) captured in print so that everyone can hear her story.
2 | I won a Bake-Off and wrote a new recipe
My friend Mary turned 31 (happy birthday!!) and held a Bake-Off and keychain making party. She’s so good at hosting and coming up with themes. I won the Bake-Off with my Gluten-Free Marshmallow Crispy Cookies.
Making these cookies took an entire day, and it is my favorite recent example of how you have to be a villager to have a village. It was so worth it to win (I’m grossly competitive sometimes) but also to put in the time and effort to bake something that everyone enjoyed, and to spend the evening celebrating the existence of a wonderful human like Mary.
3 | I got my first Repost on Instagram
I found a new song I love, made a silly little DIY music video, and got my first Repost from the band.
My perfectionist streak got the best of me in Q2 and I posted very little. Now I’m more focused on having a good time, being myself, and remembering why I liked being a content creator in the first place. Dancing around to HURRICANE.WEATHER and coming up with ways to film each clip was so much fun and I want to stick with that feeling whenever possible – like making a Weekly Joy Report. Showing up online is hard enough without me nitpicking myself and sucking all the fun out of it.
4 | I went to my first in-person dating event
I went to my first in-person dating event hosted by Thursday Events – it was fun, not super fruitful dating-wise this first time, but I’m definitely into the in-person thing as another option. I’m going to their next thing this Thursday at The Pemberton and bringing one of my single girlfriends along too.
I accidentally deleted my Hinge profile and didn’t want to recreate it immediately. I also think there’s room to explore other ways to find people I’m interested in, other than sifting through a pile of half-assed digital resumes. I think I might even get little cards to hand out in real life if I see a cutie, wouldn’t that be fun?
5 | I started making a Weekly Joy Report!
I have a wonderful life, but I also forget to slow down and enjoy it. Weekly Joy Reports are my new way of looking back and savoring the things that made me happy that week, every week.
They’re also a way to celebrate, honor, and spread the word about my Uncle Darin and ALS in general. I’m not the only content creator in my family – my uncle has been a teaching and tech-focused content creator for years, but now you can find him still crushing it, creating content about his journey with ALS on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Uncle Darin posts about his ALS symptoms, alternative therapies, mental health, and how he finds purpose and positivity every day, and you can get sweet Go Find Some Joy merch on his website!
