Vocal Verified—Inspiring Stories from 2018

We say it at the end of every year, but this time I think we all really mean it: 2018 was the longest year in history. We all had the shared experience of trying to find joy in little things while the world collectively coped with political division, social shifts, mass tragedies, and the unexpected losses of so many of our personal heroes.

To celebrate a fresh start in 2019, I've asked the Vocal moderators and my fellow members of the curation team to think about all the stories they've seen this past year (thousands and thousands of them!) and pick the favorites that stick out in their minds. With their input, I've rounded up the most inspirational, empathetic stories by our creators that emphasize the importance of loving the people and the world around you—stories that help us find something beautiful to cling to even when everything around us feels a little hopeless.

These were the stories that truly inspired the Vocal staff, or touched us enough to made us cry, or sparked passionate arguments from across the office. Give them a read and reflect on all the things—the people in your life, the place you call home, or what you've learned about yourself—that brought you happiness this year, and how we can ensure that we all go into the new year softer and kinder and ready to create.

If you're not already a Vocal creator, you can sign up here to join the conversation.

"My beloved family felt worried that the burdens and ghosts of the past would be too much for me to handle. What I had a hard time then explaining was that I had gained valuable insights into the nuances of freedom by learning to evolve with those ghosts." —Stanley Gray

"Instead of seeing myself as either a body lacking what was expected of me or as a body marked by tragic loss, I began to consciously consider what I was grateful for and what this body let me do." —Elizabeth Bert

"The very act of deciding to model on a completely spontaneous whim felt like the best way of saying "f*ck you" to the insidious messages that comment on the conditions that need to be met before a woman’s body can be shown in public. In that moment, I was the complete antithesis of what popular culture would deem acceptable for a naked woman." —Sarah James

"That feeling of empowerment excited us and reminded us of why we came here in the first place. We came here to grow and to experience more of what life had to offer, and we were going to do just that." —Gabrielle LeFontaine

"I wonder when he goes to sleep at night, if he looks at the books on the shelf near his room. I wonder if he ever reads them, if he ever thinks of me when he sees them, knowing that I have read them all, not knowing that I did it all for him." —Finnegan Alexander

"When our family home was foreclosed, my son took his keyboard deep into our woods, propped it against a tree, and left it there. It was the day all of us became briefly homeless. No other place else could be called home by any of us, for a long time after that." —Sarah Terra

"I've had customers who lived in fancy houses, with pretty wives and money coming out their ears! But they're the ones who won't pay me for my work. So, y'see, just because something looks good or bad on the outside doesn't mean it's like that inside! You gotta 'peel 'em back.'"—Chuck Hinson

"They tell me that life changes men, makes them weak. That's only the wild ones, though. 'The secret to life is laughter,' he told me once. 'Tell everyone.'" —Avi Sato

"I felt changed—like somehow, she'd opened my mind to a new world, or like I'd learnt a new language, or something. She was so right, too; it isn't just who you love, it's how you love." —Jack Samuels

"There is no other feeling worse than allowing ourselves to detach from all emotion to the point where we feel nothing. We have hardened. We are tough. Just like we’re taught to be." —Klaudia Lynn

"Scratch everything that you believe, trust, and know about cooking. It doesn't matter. Traveling should be uncharted. Don't have an itinerary. Meet many many people along the way. Talk to everyone. Get to know them. Strangers shouldn't be strangers. What matters is the unknown." —Lauren Day

"When the laughter eventually died down, and the tears eventually dried, we found ourselves among fellow movie watchers in the movie theatre, or smiling at a comic book after a long day of work, or basking in the chaos of a Comic-Con. At the end of the day, Stan Lee helped us feel a lot less alone." —Michael X.

"They're not weak for seeking help or looking for guidance. If anything, asking for help can be cathartic. It’s like balance. You can’t take your first steps without a little bit of support in the beginning to hold your ground." —Paulina Pachel

"I felt fear for the man who used to paint mine and my sister’s nails. For the man who wiped away my childish tears and bandaged my skinned knees. For the man who spun me around and threw me in pools and delivered me when I was born." —Quinn Riley

"I decided to try again. I felt lighter in my seat. I moved forward as if I’d never been stuck, and whooped in relief as I drove out of the quicksand gooey patch in the center of the unbaked field." —Renee Beck

"I held her, I changed her, I rocked her, I fed her. I loved her like I was her mother and we weren't about to give her away. I saw my ex hold her, change her, rock, and feed her like we weren't about to slice our hearts wide open and give her away." —Alexis Fox

"Standing next to the genip tree I see a dress that picks at the wind. It is yellow and muddled with dishwasher spots./She was the breath that came towards candles." —Samantha Williams

"It was days later. I would find out that our house of 23 years was gone. Nothing left standing but the chimney. Gone along with 95 percent of the rest of the town." —E. F. Landeros

"I've looked all across the internet for our appearance on the Ellen Show, but it seems to have vanished from the Earth. Now, this article is the only evidence of my experience, save the pink Ellen Show lanyard hanging in my closet." —Layne Radlauer

"The world, or at least I, am watching with respect and gratitude for not just giving us an album that brings light to a tremendously dark corner of current international hostilities, but simply for being visible and standing forward bravely as a young woman who will not be defeated." —Harry Jenner

"I have an infinite supply of words that I can't write or say. The words don’t ever stop, but they don’t make sense. Or they don’t match. Or they don’t make up a solid plot line that people look for in a story. I wouldn’t call what happened to me a 'story.'" —Clarisse Guevarra

"You might make a change, get a new job, or file for divorce, but probably not. Instead, you look back with regret, create your excuses, and continue with your unhappy existence. If we can’t make the changes we should make in our actual lives, how can we judge Bojack for not pulling it together?" —Judith Moore

"Give it some time. It took 43 years to convict Cosby, it may take a while to stop these other men too. Maybe even in less time. Because #TimesUp." —Richard Wright, MA

"Because when you see this much hope, you can’t help but believe that the world will never burn at all, except to take all our loneliness and light it on fire. This time for real. I want that for us." —Jaz Persing

"As Emma Gonzalez stated in her noble speech: 'We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks.' After this experience, I know that we will be." —Paula Macena

"The military and the cultural isolation that came with it forced me to really question what it was that made me a Jew. Judaism was now deeper, more profound, more intimate, and inevitably more complex than ever before." —Dane Kunes

"The second you leave the borders of the United States, the world opens up; a weight is lifted. The sparkle returns to my daughters’ eyes as they are finally free to speak with no specter of objection." —Walter Rhein

"There may be thousands flocking to the promise of security reached by quick means, but I don't want to be like them. I want to be the cardinal, patient, unwavering, shining brightly against the storm, my wings there for when I need them, the flow of this world passing underneath my feet." —D.S. Fisichella