Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Positive DONUT, the newsletter designed to make you feel good inside.

Now we can’t all be as pumped up as Betty White strutting her stuff on national television, but I hope this email still leaves you in brighter spirits than it found you.

Let me know which sections and stories are your favorites; I love hearing from you!

Have a fantastic week. 🥰

—Kailyn

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter should be a ~3.25 minute read (865 words).

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I am enough just as I am.

At 72 years old, most people are figuring out pickleball schedules or finally learning how to keep a sourdough starter alive. Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft is starting her medical residency.

Dawn first caught the medical bug at age seven while recovering from mono. Her mom gave her a microscope to pass the time, and suddenly mealworms and leaves became must-see entertainment. 

• Watching her daughter spend hours studying tiny worlds under the lens, Dawn’s mother made a prediction: “You’re going to become a doctor someday.”
• And 65 years later, she’s making it happen.

Between that fateful day and now, Dawn became a nurse practitioner, raised four children, worked multiple jobs, and spent decades taking care of everyone else first. Somewhere along the way, medical school kept sliding further down the to-do list, tucked behind carpools, diapers, mortgages, and life.

Then, in 2020, her husband narrowly survived a brain hemorrhage. Reminded of just how fragile life really is, Dawn revisited a question many people quietly ask themselves: If not now, when?

Dawn dipped into her retirement savings, enrolled in medical school in the Caribbean, and became classmates with students young enough to be her grandchildren. 

She joined beach yoga sessions, hosted ‘80s movie nights, tutored younger students, and pushed through failed exams and moments of doubt.

This month, Dawn will graduate as her school’s oldest-ever medical student. In July, she begins a three-year residency in Michigan in family medicine.

You can be calm during a crisis and still spiral after one difficult email, because different situations activate completely different emotional patterns. Mindful offers expert-led guided sessions that help people recognize patterns in real time and respond with greater steadiness, clarity, and awareness instead of reacting on autopilot.

Designed for real life, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and short daily practices help people move through everyday pressure and bigger moments of uncertainty with more intention.

👆 Welcome to New Ground, an all-female co-housing community founded a decade ago by two dozen women between the ages of 50-80. 

• Together, they transformed a former convent school into 25 private apartments, each equipped with its own kitchen and accessible “wet room” bathroom.
• Residents share meals, a recreation room, and a garden, among other communal spaces. 

But above all, they’ve built something harder to find: a group of friends for life.

🙏 Three Florida teens are being hailed as heroes after jumping into action to help a man experiencing chest pains while trying to change a tire on the side of the road. Turns out he was having a heart attack, and their emergency call may have saved his life.

🎉 Little Levi couldn’t have a traditional sixth birthday party after a bone marrow transplant left him immunocompromised. So his community brought the celebration to him. 1,000+ people paraded past his driveway with gifts and birthday wishes, including firefighters, sanitation workers, motorcyclists, and even a truck full of ferrets.

🥹 Because it's cute… It's impossible not to smile watching this video of 101-year-old Alice answering questions from young kids. It is one of the cutest things I’ve seen in a while.

There are so many ways to be creative. From making music to painting a picture to writing a short story, the benefits of adding self-expression into our everyday lives are endless. This article by Positive News documents five ways to be creative in your everyday life:

1. Take off the pressure
2. Seize the chances in everyday life
3. Carry a notebook
4. Leave time to dream
5. Team up with others

Read more.

🚐 $125 off RV rentals… Travel the country in comfort with thousands of options waiting across the US. Book by 6/30 here.

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⛰️ 15% off your stay… Watch the Blue Ridge Mountains from your boutique luxury hotel in downtown Asheville. Book by 5/31 here.

Welcome, What’s Your Win, to the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good things happening right here within our Positive DONUT community.

Check them out below.

⛰️ Vicki R. from UT is committing to her wellness journey:

• “I got a gym membership and a Personal Trainer 6 weeks ago, and have stuck with, going 3 times a week, without fail. Additionally, my Daughter and Son-in-law have joined in the quest for healthy exercise and we have been going on hikes every other weekend in beautiful Southern Utah! I included a photo of my daughter and I from this weekend hiking at Dixie National Forest Lions Mouth Cave Trail”

💍 One anonymous subscriber is a thankful new bride:

• “Thankful for a wonderful & beautiful wedding weekend with (almost) no family drama!”

🐾 Alyssa RT from Morro Bay, CA is proud of her fur baby:

• Our dog Lucy has learned how to be safe in our dinghy. Since we moved to a mooring ball, her potty time now includes trips in a dinghy to and from land. For the first week we had to have her in an enclosed car seat so she wouldn’t try to jump out of the boat. It’s only been a couple weeks, but now she is happy to sit at dad’s feet and wait for him to tell her it’s ok to stand up. (Photo is Lucy in her hoodie over her life jacket, while she waits to go in the dinghy).

🙏 Sarah G is proving that hard work pays off:

• “When I turned 30, I set two big goals: Buying a house and getting promoted. Despite often feeling “behind,” compared to peers, I kept pushing myself every day. My husband and I bought our first home in October, and I was promoted 8 weeks before 31. The experience taught me the value of letting go of constant timelines while continuing to show up, work hard, and advocate for myself.”

🐑 Imagine slipping on the comfiest handmade slippers, all while knowing you’re helping support hard-working women in Kyrgyzstan. Sustainably made and offered in multiple styles to find your perfect fit, check out Kyrgies. ✨

🧼 Spring is in full swing, and with it comes the cleaning bug. Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning products are my ride-or-die for any messes in my house. With a crawling little one, it’s nice to know Mrs. Meyer’s products are made with essential oils & other naturally chosen ingredients and completely cruelty free. Explore all of their cleaning products. ✨

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1. What was the original name of the rock band Led Zeppelin?
2. What is the name of Buzz Lightyear's space agency employer in the movie Toy Story?
3. Which African country was largely the setting for the desert planet Tatooine in the Star Wars franchise?

(Keep scrolling for the answers)

Share your own wins... If you take a moment to slow down and recognize the good things in your life, you'll notice there really is always something to be thankful for🥰.

And if you feel compelled to share, let us know what you're feeling especially grateful for or proud of right here. Nothing is too small or insignificant to celebrate, and we promise to be your biggest hype-people😎.

Submit your or a loved one's wins here for a chance to be featured in next week's newsletter.

1. The New Yardbirds
2. Star Command
3. Tunisia (which has a city named Tataouine)

Advertise with us: Want to reach other smart and inquisitive readers like you? Become a DONUT partner here.