On June 6, 2026, Simone Biles shared a shocking post on her Instagram stories. The gymnast, widely considered the greatest of all time, revealed she’d been hospitalized in a near-death experience. “I’m not one to normally share things like this because I value privacy in today’s age,” she wrote on Instagram. “But almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week.” Simone didn’t reveal what brought her to the hospital, but a post on Instagram a few weeks later brought in the critics who apparently just want to keep her down. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SIMONE BILES (@simonebiles) Simone Biles Isn’t Justify Her Life After a Near Death Experience to Anyone Simone Biles and her husband, Johnathan Owens, traveled to Belize following her near-death medical episode, and the trolls came in full force online. She posted photos of herself and Johnathan on their trip, and haters took the opportunity to condemn her for traveling. “Almost died but look at these traveling selfies,” someone joked. But Simone clapped back quickly. “Ugh these comments make me sad. a little over two weeks ago, I experienced a serious medical emergency that could have ended very differently, and this trip has been part of allowing myself to heal & appreciate being here,” she wrote. “I hope you understand that life changing experiences can shift your perspective. & that you’re able to extend a little more grace to others moving forward have a nice day!” Simone Biles wrote in a mic drop sign off. Fans came in clutch to support Simone Biles following the near-death experience and told her not to listen to naysayers. “What’s funny about almost dying then taking time for yourself and your husband? Maybe find some compassion, or something else to do besides throw shade,” one wrote. This fan agreed, writing, “You look lovely Simone!!! So happy you can get away and enjoy this trip!!! I’m happy you are feeling well…did not realize anything had happened to you… but glad you are doing so well now!!! Prayers for a wonderful rest of your vacation!!!” This story’s featured image is by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

A high school baseball player in Michigan is defying the odds and proving nothing is impossible with some grit and determination. Chris McNeal, a sophomore at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is the varsity team’s starting pitcher—despite only having one leg. In an interview with MLive News, McNeal, his family, friends, and head baseball coach shared his story of overcoming numerous health challenges to make it where he is today. “I didn’t even realize he was missing his leg until partway through the season,” his coach, Zach Rickli told the news outlet. View this post on Instagram McNeal rises above his health struggles Since birth, McNeal has been a fighter. He was born with a rare condition called VACTERL association, “a rare condition that left him with a deformed left leg, a missing kidney and a damaged spine.” His mom, Renee McNeal, shared with MLive, “I found out at 20 weeks. We knew that his foot was deformed. We knew he was missing a kidney. We weren’t sure if his spine was deformed yet. He was a great baby!” McNeal underwent a below-the-knee amputation of his left foot at just four months old, and spent most of his childhood in and out of hospitals. In total, he had 17 surgeries. “He kind of scared us. He never cried,” his mom added. Ignoring the haters McNeal has been an underdog from the start, with many people doubting his abilities. “It’s not always been easy. There are definitely some people that are kind of hateful about it, that are judgmental about it or have stereotypes about it of ‘Oh he has one leg. He’s not going to throw that hard. And then I just do what I do. I try my best and stay out of my head,” he told the outlet. “I don’t listen to people. Half the people that hate, they don’t do what I do.” However, it’s been fuel to his motivation. “It’s definitely helped me have more of a mindset of ‘keep going, don’t let it stop you,” he added. According to his dad Corey McNeal, it’s helped develop a bevy of positive attributes. He shared, “He’s just a good kid…his character, his personality, the way he treats people.” Coach Rickli added that his teammates “look at him as an inspiration. A lot of our guys on the team are like, ‘I don’t think I’d be doing the things that you’re doing if I was in the position that you’re in right now.” McNeal has found humor with his circumstances too, adding that when people ask what happened to his foot, he says, “It got bit off by a shark in the Bahamas when I was three.” Viewers respond McNeal’s tenacity earned him major praise in the comment section, inspiring people to never let challenges stop them: “Such a strong kid! Representation matters. What a role model, for us all!” “What an amazing positive mindset keep it up!! God bless you and your plans .” “ good frame of mind. Others centered and pouring into your cup. Soak up that time on the mound, keep doing you. Put in that good work, in the classroom and weight room. People will hate, you keep doing great. Sending good vibrations.. stay away from the sharks” “Keep going! This is an awesome story.” “Way to fight! You are right. Don’t let them get into your head. You are doing what you love to do! Cheering for you!” “Do you remember the Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott who was born without a right hand? He pitched in the majors for ten years and he threw a no-hitter! This young man will hopefully reach the majors too and I wish him all the best! ” “This is strength and positivity, this is a strong young man!” The post Michigan high schooler with one leg defies odds, becomes varsity baseball team’s star pitcher appeared first on Upworthy.

At 22, most people are just starting their careers or trying to save for their first apartment. Robert Lennox-Hvenekilde, a 22-year-old from Denmark, just spent his entire life savings. Not on a house, a car, or even a fancy degree, but on 7.5 acres of raw, undeveloped jungle in Colombia. His story is now sparking a viral conversation, showing a path that’s completely different from the one most are “supposed” to take. The problem is that settling down and buying property has become ridiculously, ludicrously out of reach for a lot of young people. Price-to-income ratios are the highest they’ve ever been in the history of the United States, and many of the new generation of adults who have achieved the dream of owning their own home have found it to be… a trap! Yes, there are a lot of amazing benefits to being a homeowner, but it can also be a massive drain on your finances, your time, and your freedom. Waterfall in a jungle. Photo credit: Canva One Gen Z man is doing things a little differently. Instead of investing in his first house, he spent his life savings on 7.5 acres of undeveloped jungle in Colombia. Twenty-two year old Robert Lennox-Hvenekilde from Denmark has always been an adventurer, filming his outdoorsy-escapades on TikTok for years. But a recent trip to Colombia left the Gen Z-er inspired to take his interest in nature to the next level. “[I] realized that there were a lot of people living in these areas of the world who were maybe not rich in an economic sense, but they just seemed extremely free and to have an extremely high quality of life,” he told Newsweek. He took the leap most of us only dream of He decided to do something a lot of people only dream or fantasize about: live in Colombia, among nature, and create a sustainable homestead for himself. After months of researching, networking, and negotiations, he was able to purchase three hectares (or 7.4 acres) of undeveloped land for about $40,000. That equates to roughly five or six football fields, for reference. The jungle land Lennox-Hvenekilde now calls home features a fresh water stream, avocado and other fruit trees, and sugar cane. He’s currently building a small structure on the land to live in, and he plans to be a good caretaker of the land. Outside of harvesting fruit and avocado to eat and sell, he says he’ll continue to plant and nurture native plant species to provide a habitat for the several species of endangered monkeys living there. Lennox-Hvenekilde also says his property came with special trees planted specifically for wood production, which he’s using to create his dwelling. “I would not cut down any of the native jungle,” he says. Watch him give an amazing tour of his new home here: @roba_tron Property break down #4you #foru #danmark #wildlife #nature #dk #offgrid ♬ original sound – roba_tron The internet had a lot of opinions Nearly two million people were fascinated by the wild video. Many were inspired by a way of life they’d previously thought completely unattainable. “Dream life” “can i come join you… sounds amazing” “Bro made the best decision of his live” It looks incredible on camera: the vibrant greens of the rainforest, working with your hands instead of staring at a computer all day, never having to commute or deal with rude strangers out in public. (Where do I sign up!?) Still, others had mixed feelings: “Please take care of the land and his water. Is our job to protect our nature. Plant trees and native flowers,” one person implored. More than a few commenters were uncomfortable with an outsider buying up endangered jungle land in a foreign country, likening it to gentrification. Lennox-Hvenekilde’s response has been that it’s better for someone like him to take a small piece of the land for living, and harvest and care for the rest. Conversely, mass farmers burn down hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest every single year in Colombia to make room for their crops. Compared to that, the 22-year-old’s impact will be extremely minimal. @roba_tron Project Property #4you #foru #wildlife #nature #offgrid #cabin #adventure #danmark #dk ♬ GONE, GONE / THANK YOU (I hate wasted potential) – Tyler, The Creator We’ve all had the fantasy at one time or another. Disappear, leave our entire life and Earthly possessions behind, and flee deep into nature. Live off the land. Create a simpler life for ourselves. Be happy. In fact, and perhaps unsurprisingly, interest in off-grid living has been steadily growing in popularity due to factors like rising costs, fierce political division, and an increasingly hectic and stressful modern lifestyle. For most of us, though, the thought remains a fantasy. As appealing as it sounds, the idea of actually saying goodbye to our career, friends, family, and human pleasures is a little frightening. Even more so when we realize that living off the grid is a ridiculous amount of work. Sourcing our own food and fresh water? Having little to no access to medical care if we were to get injured or sick? @roba_tron Day 36 #4you #foru #wildlife #nature #offgrid #cabin #danmark ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz It’s not exactly risk-free, though It took a lot of bravery for Lennox-Hvenekilde to take such a big leap the way he did. And his journey is still not without its dangers. His viewers worry he might have run ins with the infamous Colombian drug cartels, which operate in the rainforest growing coca, which is used to make cocaine. And then there are all the bears, jaguars, and creepy crawlies. “But how are the spiders?” one commenter asked Lennox-Hvenekilde. “Big,” he said. Yeah, on second thought, maybe that commute doesn’t sound quite so bad. But kudos to him for showing us all what’s possible. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post 22-year-old forgoes buying a home and spends his life savings on a chunk of raw Colombian jungle appeared first on Upworthy.

Though many teachers are leaving the profession, not all of them are making national news. Maggie Perkins, 32, made headlines in 2022 when she quit the teaching profession to work at Costco, and showed no interest in looking back. “The conditions were worsening rapidly, and I realized they weren’t getting better, and nobody seemed alarmed enough to do anything. I was 29 when I decided to leave,” she told People, noting she was making $47,000 at the time. “The more I learned about Costco and the different roles at the company, the happier I was at the idea of working there, whether at the warehouse or corporate, for the rest of my career,” she added. “I feel like there was a great potential reward for pursuing it.” Three years later, she trains fellow employees and has no regrets about leaving her former career. Now she can finally say what she really thinks Now that Perkins has been out of the classroom for a few years, she can say the things she couldn’t when she was working as an educator. So, she created a TikTok video where she revealed four big things that she had to keep to herself, and all of them are centered around kids’ hygiene. “I used to be a teacher, and I couldn’t have said any of these things to your kid or to you while I was a teacher,” she opens her video. @itsmaggieperkins No, I was not planning to stack up like sardines ready to be slaughtered #backtoschool #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife ♬ original sound – Maggie Perkins Her four tips for parents 1. Cut your child’s nails “If your kid’s nails are long and dirty, other kids are noticing, and also it is gross. Kids literally get impetigo from their own fingernails,” she said. 2. Start using deodorant before they smell “Please start putting deodorant on your kids before you notice that they need it,” she said. “Fifth grade, guys, fifth grade, deodorant.” 3. Your child needs to start wearing a bra sooner than you think “It doesn’t have to be like a real bra. This is just like a soft, athleisure-type situation,” she said. “No one wants to be made fun of because it looks like they should be wearing a bra and they’re not.” 4. Wash that sweatshirt and hoodie often “Once those cuffs start to be like literally brown and ratty, wash the jacket. I am watching them wipe their snot on the jacket sleeve day after day after day,” she said. “They’re walking around in a dirty snot rag.” Why she’s sharing this now Perkins’ advice is for the child’s health, but also to save them from embarrassment. “There’s no worse feeling than being a sixth grader who has this like acute sense of being different than others and criticized,” she said. “Your child is probably more aware of it than you are, and they’re just not talking to you about it, because kids don’t talk to their parents that much.” The TikTok post, which garnered over 2.4 million views, resonated with Perkins’ followers, who shared how hygiene issues had caused them a lot of embarrassment when they were young. “Parents, please also teach your kids to be compassionate because not all kids come from a loving home,” one viewer wrote. “Be the love they don’t receive and don’t make fun of the kids who may smell or are not wearing a bra.” Another added, “I would have loved for a teacher to tell this to my mom. I went to middle school without a bra, and I was so embarrassed to change in the locker rooms.” She didn’t stop there Since then, Perkins has released more videos in this vein. Here’s one below, where she warns parents that if they smoke cigarettes, their kids will also smell like cigarettes. Even if no smoking takes place in the house. @itsmaggieperkins Replying to @OneCoolMom just a few more things. If an adult in the home smokes, the child smells like smoke,. That just does not wash out. A lot of kids are going to school with no socks on. It starts to really smell bad, and mildew builds up. Parents send the same water bottle to school every single day without washing it. There’s mildew in there, and when sweet drinks are added, also mold. The kids ears are gross. A lot of kids have earwax buildup that is yellow and brown and crusty in coming out of their ear canal. A lot of kids also are literally dirty behind their ears. Parents need to literally wash behind the ears. #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife #formerteacher #parenting #teachertok #middleschoolteacher #elementaryschool ♬ original sound – Maggie Perkins She also reiterated the importance of cleaning behind a child’s ears, wearing clean socks, clean water bottles, and keeping the skin hydrated with products like vaseline. Again, mostly basic (but important) hygiene stuff. Ultimately, Perkins’ tips are all about helping parents anticipate and address any potential hygiene or attire issues their child may encounter before they become a problem, whether that’s causing illness or embarrassment. The former teacher’s tips are a great reminder that a little extra care at home can make things a lot easier for kids on the playground and in the classroom. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post Ex-teacher reveals the 4 important things she couldn’t tell parents until after she quit appeared first on Upworthy.

It’s not easy being a river in the desert under the best of circumstances. The ecosystem exists in a very delicate balance, allowing water sources to thrive in the harsh conditions. These water sources in otherwise extremely dry areas are vital to the survival of unique wildlife, agriculture, and even tourism as they provide fresh drinking water for the people who live nearby. But man-made problems like climate change, over-farming, and pollution have made a tough job even tougher in some areas. Rivers in Utah and Colorado part of the Colorado River Basin have been barely surviving the extremely harsh drought season. When the riverbeds get too dry, fish and other aquatic creatures die off and the wildfire risk increases dramatically. About six years ago, one team of researchers had a fascinating idea to restore the health of some of Utah’s most vulnerable rivers: Bring in the beavers. Beaver on riverbank. Photo credit: Canva In 2019, master’s student Emma Doden and a team of researchers from Utah State University began a “translocation” project to bring displaced beavers to areas like Utah’s Price River, in the hopes of bringing it back to life. Why beavers? Well, it just makes dam sense! (Sorry.) In all seriousness, beaver dams restrict the flow of water in some areas of a river, creating ponds and wetlands. In drought-stricken areas, fish and other wildlife can take refuge in the ponds while the rest of the river runs dry, thus riding out the danger until it rains again. When beavers are present in a watershed, the benefits are unbelievable: Better water quality, healthier fish populations, better nutrient availability, and fewer or less severe wildfires. It’s why beavers have earned the title of “keystone species,” or any animal that has a disproportionate impact on the ecosystem around them. How the translocation actually worked Doden and her team relocated beavers that had been captured or removed from their original homes for being a “nuisance,” interfering with infrastructure, or facing danger. After a short quarantine period, the beavers were brought to the Price River. Despite the research team’s best efforts, not all the translocated beavers have survived or stayed put over the years. Some have trouble adapting to their new home and die off or are killed by predators, while others leave of their own accord. But since 2019, enough have stayed and built dams that the team is starting to see the results of the effort. In fact, beaver projects just like this one have been going on all over the state in recent years. Six years later, here are the results The water levels in the river are now the healthiest they’ve been in years. The fish are thriving and Utah residents are overjoyed with the experiment’s results. According to an early 2025 column in The Salt Lake Tribune (i.e. six years after the beaver translocation began) the revitalization of the Price River has “helped save [our] Utah town.” “A tributary of the Colorado River, the Price River runs through downtown Helper,” wrote column authors Lenise Peterman and Jordan Nielson. “On a warm day, you’re likely to find the river filled with tourists and locals kayaking, tubing and fishing along its shore. A decade ago, it was hard to imagine this scene—and the thriving recreation economy that comes with it—was possible.” Of course, it wasn’t JUST the beavers. Other federal water cleanup investments helped remove debris, break down old and malfunctioning dams, and place tighter regulations on agriculture grazing in the area that depleted vital plant life. But the experts know that the beavers, and their incredible engineering work, are the real MVPs. An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River. Photo credit: Public Domain Now they’re taking this idea further In other drying, struggling rivers in the area, researchers are bringing in beavers and even creating manmade beaver dams. They’re hoping that the critters will take over the job as the rivers get healthier. Utah’s San Rafael River, which is in bleak condition, is a prime candidate. In one area of the river, a natural flood inspired a host of beavers to return to the area and “riparian habitat along that stretch had increased by 230%, and it had the most diverse flow patterns of anywhere on the river,” according to KUER. It’s hard to believe that beavers nearly went extinct during the heyday of the fur trapping industry, and continued to struggle as they were considered nuisances and pests. Now, they’re getting the respect they deserve as engineer marvels, and their populations have rebounded due to better PR and conservation programs. It’s about dam time! This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated. The post Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. Six years later, here are the results. appeared first on Upworthy.