Vanessa The Vivacious: Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of Vanessa the vivacious show, Vanessa the vivacious files wherever this episode finds you if it's morning, afternoon or evening. I'm so glad that you're here. Welcome again. So glad to have you. So today I wanted to continue in sharing really good news stories that website that I keep referencing. If you're curious is actually called common good news and you can find them at common good news.org. And so they have tons of really good new stories that'll make you feel good and make you feel like this world is still on the trend to being awesome and to still unto having ⁓ more of that selfless acts of kindness and warmth and goodness in the world. So it's still there. I promise you. And it's definitely being highlighted in the news. So today, the article of the day is about a teen who uses his make-a-wish to feed hundreds of homeless after surviving cancer. So not only did he make it through cancer, but he decided he wanted to feed the homeless at the age of 14, Georgia native Jude Baker turned a personal triumph into a source of hope for others, surpassing the challenges of cancer. He had chose a selfless path for his make a wish opportunity. So make a wish. Of course, they give you ⁓ a wish, right? To to do anything that you want. And Jude Baker chose to feed the homeless, which is amazing. And so in doing so, this provided aid to those experiencing homelessness. And Jude, who's from Somerville, Georgia, faced an arduous journey when he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma at age 12, which is a rare cancer that attacks bones and surrounding tissue. The treatment process was very intense and very painful. And Jude is noted as saying that it wasn't, it wasn't even knowing I could die the chemo, it hurts. His father shared the emotional turmoil of watching Jude endure such hardships, expressing that he could feel his pain and as a dad that just sucks. After enduring numerous treatments, Jude celebrated a significant milestone by ringing that hospital bell signaling the end of chemotherapy. This achievement entitled him to a wish through Make-A-Wish Georgia. While many children opt for personal adventures or celebrity meetings, Jude's attention was on a different cause. Observing that the struggles of homeless individuals during his hospital visits left a lasting impression on him. He decided that he wanted to go out and do his version of helping others. And so he wanted to help those in a similar situation, but in his own way. Jude's wish was unique and that the coordinator, Emily Campbell said that his wish only was to give back to his community and that and that's a wish that they've not even heard kids say before. And so with the support of Make-A-Wish Georgia and local volunteers, Jude's vision materialized. Volunteers distributed backpacks with supplies and sleeping bags, and they served hot meals to those in need, impacting over 300 individuals. During the event, Jude displayed extraordinary empathy by ensuring that he did not eat until everyone else had been served. He wanted to help them out because he was in a bad situation and they were too. Now in remission, Jude expresses the ability and the desire to inspire others to contribute within their communities. Jude says, it doesn't have to come from a wish. He stated, you can help too. Jude's remarkable compassion inspired local entrepreneur, Kevin Godfrey and Leslie Tripp-Watwood to initiate a fundraiser aiming to gift Jude and his family a joyful vacation. The fundraising campaign has resonated deeply with the community, amassing over 60,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. Lacey Gilreith, a co-organizer, recounted Jude's mother's emotional moment, explaining that remarkable support for her son. At first, he didn't understand why, she noted. But I explained because he did such a good thing, he is getting rewarded. Jude has watched the donations grow, hopeful about the potential adventures this support could offer his family. So that in itself is such a heartwarming story. But to understand that a child no less is thinking of the world and thinking of his community that inspires so much because it gives us hope in the future and that there are young people who are wanting to do the right thing for their communities, regardless of whether they're in it or whether ⁓ they're they're seeing it around them. So that's very inspiring. I think that this young man is going to do wonderful things for the world. And it is just so awesome. I can't imagine going through chemotherapy and then surviving that all of that pain, all of that discomfort. and still thinking of other people and wanting to help them. I think that is amazing. So hats off to Jude and I hope you guys enjoyed that article on Common Good News. And again, you can find this article as well as many others on commongoodnews.org and slash inspiring. That's where all of those really good articles are. As for myself, I am a living article, I like to say. ⁓ Yesterday I had a wonderful time on a podcast with the host of Work Sucks But I Like It, Mr. Tony Tenaglier. He is a really cool guy who ⁓ does podcasting as well and he's an author and an engineer, I believe. Like this guy wears so many hats but he's so smart and very particular. ⁓ I really enjoyed having him as a guest on my show and asking him questions about humanity. So in addition to that, I worked on the solo cast. I spent time with my dog because she's a little girl, little dog, but she gets very sad if she's left alone for a long time, which is similar to us. So I try to make sure that I give her love. Yesterday, I took a much needed day off because I find that if we do so much work every single day, we get burnout very easily. And so it's better to pace yourself and give yourself some time in between projects. Even if it's a whole day, sometimes you need a whole day to recharge, to sleep, to get yourself back together. And then the next day you can be right back at it recording or doing whatever it is that you do. For me today, I'm going to work on my film. I have a film deadline before May 15th. And so I need to work on this film to get it turned in for this festival. And I really hope that I make a really excellent product. ⁓ So that's my goal of the day. Also, I'm going to go on a three mile walk, but I have to take my dog with me again. Don't want to leave her alone. And so I'm going to use one of those dog slings and hopefully that'll keep her in there when she gets tired from walking. And it'll give me some extra weight. So in a way it's a win win. But today that's what I'm doing is I'm working on a film and carrying my dog in a sling. It's going to be great. Also had breakfasts, cooked some good eggs and chicken apple sausage. ⁓ my God. There's something about the combination of chicken, apple and Gouda that is amazing. So if you've never had chicken apple sausage, you're missing out. You need to try it for sure. Now. On a serious note, something that I've been thinking about lately is our beginning and our middle and our end. So for me personally, it's unfortunate beginnings and difficult middles and what will hopefully be glorious endings. I think that if we push through these difficult middles and if we understand that there's a reason behind them and we use them to catapult us forward, then we will have those glorious endings. But when it comes to unfortunate beginnings, what I mean by that is that initially I wasn't supposed to be here. And that's how I start my book. That's how I start my documentary is I was never supposed to be here. My mother wanted a son and she had no idea. I know, excuse me. She wanted a daughter, but she had no idea that I was a girl. And so she decided that it would be better to get rid of me instead of wait and see if I was a girl or a boy. And so she tried to medicate herself and tried to take care of me herself in terms of ⁓ terminating her pregnancy. And it didn't work. I was stubborn. I stuck around and I lived because she found out I was a girl. So initially I wasn't supposed to be here. And so from the beginning, from the very beginning, I already had some difficult beginnings, some unfortunate beginnings. And then growing up in my formative years, my brother who is, I don't know, he's misunderstood. I misunderstand him all the time, but then now I'm starting to understand him. But for our entire lives, I misunderstood him. He actually taught me how to walk and he taught me how to walk incorrectly. And so I grew up walking pigeon-toed thinking that that was the correct way to walk. And he did it on purpose to mess with me. And so for many years, I did not like him very much because he always did very mean things to me. And I no idea why. But I still persevered. I corrected my walking. I strived to continue to move forward. And no matter what happened to me, because there's so much more that happens throughout the years, I still managed to correct the course. Yes, you feel your feelings. Yes, you get depressed sometimes and you sit in it. But then when you're ready, you pick yourself back up and you remember that you're still worth something and that you have things to do and you can't sit around if you have things to do. And so you just move forward. I believe that if we push through our difficulties, as I said earlier, that we will move forward. If we believe, if we achieve, and if we help others, that's another part of it, is helping other people. Because staying inside yourself is one thing, but when you go outside of yourself to help other people, that in turn helps you as well. It gives you perspective, it gives you gratitude. It gives you a view on someone else's perspective that you never would have had before. So it enriches your soul. There's so many reasons to help others. And so I think that if we take the time to help other people, regardless of how you help them, but just do something that helps others, whether it be volunteering, whether it be, you know, working phones for an organization that advocates for change or for the environment or for helping people, any, any kind of. effort to volunteer to make the world a better place that that is much appreciated and So I think that that enriches our souls as well. And so it helps us to continue to become better people I believe that if we push through all of our hardships that we will have glorious endings that we will be victorious and that we will save the world one human at a time so in in not sitting around in our sadness, but pushing through and in helping other people we will Definitely change the world and change our lives and move forward toward that glorious ending Despite having unfortunate beginnings and difficult middles We it will we will most definitely have glorious endings if we push forward and never give up I think it's really easy to give up It's really easy to turn around and look at look at life and say, you know, I don't have a regular job I don't have the same things that Joe or Johnny or Billy has you know, I don't have all of the awards and accolades that I should have because I'm just as smart as Susan, but I don't have all of that. None of that matters. None of that matters. They happen to acquire those things and that's great for them, but it doesn't mean anything to you because you're a totally different person on a totally different path. And so you have to respect that, respect your path in the sense that what's meant for you will come to you. And then when it does, you will be far better for it. And in the meantime, work on yourself, also work on helping other people. So that way you can also put into the world what it is that you want to receive from the world. And so don't look at what other people are doing. I am so glad that I've taught myself to not do that because it's really easy to get swept up by what other people are doing or to measure yourself against their success. It doesn't matter because you have your own path and you are your own person. So I highly encourage you to focus on your own path, to focus on Helping other people to focus on helping yourself in whatever way that that is. Don't beat yourself up and don't drown yourself in self-help books and all kinds of things that you think will help you. Listen to your soul. Take a moment and walk in the forest or walk in nature and sit down. Ask your soul, what do you need? Ask your soul, what do you want? And then spend some time feeling and taking an inventory, like an emotional inventory and find out what is it that you need? Because... Yes, we can read lots of books and find lots of wisdom in them, but are they for you? I don't know. Only only your soul knows really. And so I think that if we take time to listen to our soul, then we will have better answers. Not to say that you shouldn't read books. You really should. But, you know, make sure that what you're reading is is what you should be reading, not what's just popular on the on the bestseller list. So in that, I hope you guys have enjoyed this little mini episode. I hope that you find comfort in knowing that with unfortunate beginnings and difficult middles, there are most definitely glorious endings. If you stick in it, stick with it. I wish you the best day. I hope that you achieve all that you wish to achieve and just know that if no one is behind you and no one is cheering you on, I am I Vanessa the vivacious are cheering you on. I'm standing behind you. I'm giving you those encouraging words and I'm letting you know that you're not alone and I'm letting you know that there are far There are far more people behind you than you realize and you're worth it and you can do anything. See you guys tomorrow on Vanessa Vivacious Show, Vanessa Vivacious Files. Have the best day of your lives.