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10 no-cost, no-line things my kids love in Disney World

It’s easy to be disillusioned by the prices and the crowds, but on a recent trip, our favorite things had neither.

10 no-cost, no-line things my kids love in Disney World
Evan Porter/Upworthy

They say Disney World is the most magical place on Earth. Sadly, not everyone feels that way! A lot of parents half-jokingly call Disney a "nightmare" because of the cost and the crowds, not to mention the fact that the overstimulating environment can sometimes bring out the worst in kids. It's pretty amazing to see a child decked out in Mickey Ears holding an ice cream cone and a cinnamon roll and a new toy still crying because they didn't get what they wanted! And then there's the complexity of planning an efficient trip, which can rival the logistical efforts of visiting a foreign country.

And those things can absolutely be true. But you know what? I still love it, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. If you have kids of a certain age, there's just nothing quite like Disney. There just isn't.

What surprised me on my most recent trip to Disney World with my wife and 4 and 9 year olds girls was how excited we were just to be there. Sure, I was looking forward to checking out some of the newer rides, like Guardians of the Galaxy, but I was only able to get on most of them once, if at all. It didn't matter. The thing that made our trip special was that we were all together and focused on having as much fun as possible in the time that we had together, which is a big shakeup from our regular fast-paced daily routine. Everywhere you look in Disney World, there's an opportunity to have fun and do something you just can't do in the normal world. That's the kind of thing that makes families think it's worth it, and what keeps them coming back year after year.

Here were some of the simple things that proved to be a ton of fun without a long wait or an extra cost:

Disclosure: My family and I were able to attend Disney World for free as part of a recent Magic of Milestones celebration, but under no obligation to provide a positive review.

1. Riding the Skyliner

Lee/Flickr

Hands down, by far, this was my kid’s favorite thing to do and, as long as you can get inside the Disney World complex, it’s totally free. If you've never tried it, the Skyliner is a gondola transportation system that connects a few of the Disney resorts to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It honestly feels like a park ride and gives you an incredible view of the Disney grounds, to boot.

We never even had to wait in line, though we never tried to take the Skyliner directly back to our hotel as the parks were closing — it tends to get a little more crowded then.

The monorail isn't quite as fun but is still worth a ride at least once. The boat that goes from Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom is also 100% worth checking out for the novelty, as well. Who needs rollercoasters when you have all this at your fingertips!? You could spend at least half a day just riding Disney's various transportation systems in a big loop.

2. Collecting stickers at Animal Kingdom

Evan Porter/Upworthy

We had a blast at Animal Kingdom, and actually found it to be a more slow paced experience which was nice after a hectic few days. You might think the kids would be dying to go get in line for a ride or beg us to buy them things in the gift shop, but no, they were so thrilled to just walk around and do all the Wilderness Explorers activities: Kids get a little booklet and keep their eyes out for cast members dressed as Rangers, who teach them animal facts or do a guided activity with them before giving them a sticker to keep in their books.

Epcot also has something like this called the Kidcot stations where kids can collect little activity cards from around the "world."

3. Pin trading

If you're willing to invest in buying a Disney pin or two, the kids can have a blast trading with Cast Members at every park. Most gift shops in the parks have a pin trading board where they are obligated to trade with you if you offer!

If your kids like Pokemon cards or any sort of collectible memorabilia, they'll really dig this. We didn't do much trading this time around, but we did snag a few pins and will be ready to swap next time.

4. Spotting characters

Any time we were bussing to and from the parks, my kids would stare out the window and yell every time they saw a new character lining the side of another bus. “Pluto! Minnie! Donald!” They were endlessly entertained, they didn’t even have time to fight or complain about being hungry. Can all of our car rides at home be like this?!

The resorts also have character hunts where the kids can look for hidden cutouts of different characters, snap a selfie with them, and receive a prize — which is priceless entertainment when you're waiting in a front desk check-in line.

5. Magic Band statues

Caveat, this one isn’t technically free because you need a Magic Band (a special bracelet that acts as your park pass, resort room key, and more). But man did we have fun running around the parks looking for the semi-hidden bronze statues!

They’re interactive, so if you walk up to them and do a certain motion with your wrist, your band will buzz or light up in different colors. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how much of a kick the kids got out of this. When we found one, we had to drop everything to make our bands light up.

6. Disney Jr. Dance Party

My 9-year-old has tragically aged out of loving the Disney Jr. characters like Vampirina, Fancy Nancy, et al. But my 4-year-old worships the ground that Doc McStuffins walks on, so the entire Disney Jr. area of Hollywood Studios was heaven for her.

The dance party, a show held several times with a day (that usually doesn't get all that crowded), is really hard to describe unless you've done it. Imagine a club in 2001 except filled with toddlers, then swap Lil John for The Chicken Dance and you've pretty much got it. The DJ does an amazing job getting the kids dancing and laughing, characters show up — it's just an amazing time all around and it was one of the most unforgettable experiences of the whole trip for our little one.

7. The fireworks

Any good day at a Disney World park ends with the fireworks show. These are top-notch shows that rival the best New Years Eve displays in most cities, and you can see them pretty well from almost anywhere in the Epcot or Magic Kingdom parks.

OK, full disclosure: Only one of my kids loved this. My youngest one, who has some sensory issues, found them too loud and got scared, even with noise-muffling headphones. Woops! She said she wants to go back to Disney World as soon as possible so she can't be too traumatized.

8. Bedtime stories

In the rooms at the Disney World resorts (and on the Disney Cruises, as well), the TVs have access to tons and tons of Disney content. But my kids can't get enough of the bedtime stories, specifically. They're short, animated picture-book style cartoons that are narrated as if you're having a story read to you. They have them for Frozen, Tangled, Cars, and a few more.

There's just nothing quite like throwing on a bedtime story while we're brushing teeth and winding down from a huge day of fun. It's just so Disney. Now that we've seen all the stories several times, they almost feel nostalgic, like getting a warm hug. If you can finagle some milk and cookies from room service or a dining area, now you're really cooking.

9. The Cast Members

I once heard someone say that the Cast Members are the magic and I have to wholeheartedly agree. Every single person you meet at Disney is so kind, so helpful, and so great with the kids.

For example, we sat down for a quick bite on our first day at the parks and unfortunately had to wait a bit for our food. We had just flown in that day and were already exhausted from walking around, so the kids were getting a little grumpy. While we were waiting, a man who had been cleaning off tables came by and started asking my youngest what she was coloring, asking about the colors, making jokes, and making her laugh.

That's the kind of interaction you'll get almost everywhere you go in Disney and honestly, as someone with young kids, you can't put a price on it. You won't find it anywhere else. In the end, it's really the Cast Members that make parents want to keep coming back despite the costs and crowds.

10. Just being together

This sounds corny and obvious: As a family, we're literally together all the time!

But our regular life is so fast-paced and can get so monotonous. The weeks fly by with early wake-ups, school, soccer practice, quick messy dinners, bath, bedtime, and waking up to do it all over again. We love our life, it's full of joy and love and as much fun as we can possibly cram in to every week. But there's just something amazing about walking away from all the obligations and responsibilities and worries and just enjoying each other on a level we rarely get to.

Sometimes it takes something extreme to break you out of your routines and patterns — like spending a few thousand dollars on a trip to Disney World. But when you're sitting there watching your little one hug Doc McStuffins like she's a real person, and watch your oldest try and fail to be too cool to get a high five from Mickey Mouse, and you're thinking, Damn I love my family — well, that feeling is well worth it. And you don't even need to wait in a long line — or pay through the nose to skip the line — to get it.


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One simple word makes children 30% more likely to cooperate. It works on adults, too.

No, it's not 'please.'

Photo credit: Canva

Jonah Berger explains how appealing to someone's identity makes them more likely to agree to a request.

Human psychology really isn't that complicated, if you think about it. Everybody wants to see themselves in a positive light. That’s the key to understanding Jonah Berger’s simple tactic that makes people 30% more likely to do what you ask. Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the bestselling author of “Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way.”

Berger explained the technique using a Stanford University study involving preschoolers. The researchers messed up a classroom and made two similar requests to groups of 5-year-olds to help clean up.

One group was asked, "Can you help clean?" The other was asked, “Can you be a helper and clean up?" The kids who were asked if they wanted to be a “helper” were 30% more likely to want to clean the classroom. The children weren’t interested in cleaning but wanted to be known as “helpers.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Berger calls the reframing of the question as turning actions into identities.

"It comes down to the difference between actions and identities. We all want to see ourselves as smart and competent and intelligent in a variety of different things,” Berger told Big Think. “But rather than describing someone as hardworking, describing them as a hard worker will make that trait seem more persistent and more likely to last. Rather than asking people to lead more, tell them, 'Can you be a leader?' Rather than asking them to innovate, can you ask them to 'Be an innovator'? By turning actions into identities, you can make people a lot more likely to engage in those desired actions.”

Berger says that learning to reframe requests to appeal to people’s identities will make you more persuasive.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

“Framing actions as opportunities to claim desired identities will make people more likely to do them,” Berger tells CNBC Make It. “If voting becomes an opportunity to show myself and others that I am a voter, I’m more likely to do it.”

This technique doesn’t just work because people want to see themselves in a positive light. It also works for the opposite. People also want to avoid seeing themselves being portrayed negatively.

“Cheating is bad, but being a cheater is worse. Losing is bad, being a loser is worse,” Berger says.

The same tactic can also be used to persuade ourselves to change our self-concept. Saying you like to cook is one thing, but calling yourself a chef is an identity. “I’m a runner. I’m a straight-A student. We tell little kids, ‘You don’t just read, you’re a reader,’” Berger says. “You do these things because that’s the identity you hold.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Berger’s work shows how important it is to hone our communication skills. By simply changing one word, we can get people to comply with our requests more effectively. But, as Berger says, words are magic and we have to use them skillfully. “We think individual words don’t really matter that much. That’s a mistake,” says Berger. “You could have excellent ideas, but excellent ideas aren’t necessarily going to get people to listen to you.”

This article originally appeared last year. It has since been updated.

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Mom captures teen son's sweet reaction to opening his first ever paycheck from McDonald's

His face is absolutely beaming with pride.

u/ExactlySorta/Reddit

A teen was elated getting his first paycheck from McDonald's.

There are certain moments and milestones in life that hit harder than others. There are the biggies, of course—graduations, weddings, births, etc.—but there are also the smaller-but-still-significant ones that mark when you officially cross a threshold into a whole new stage of life. Our teens are filled with many such moments as we take our first steps into adulthood and independence.

A mom captured one of those moments on video as her teen son opened his first paycheck from his job at McDonald's.

The video shared on Reddit shows a teen in a McDonald's hat sitting in the passenger seat of a car opening an envelope that contained his paycheck. His mom said it should be "200-and something" dollars, and after a hilariously long struggle to open the envelope (Gen Z have rarely, if ever, snail mailed, so no judgment), he looks over the check stub to get the full picture.

"That's $283," he says in astonishment. To his credit, he asks "After tax, what's that?" not realizing that the amount of the check is the after-tax take home amount. His smile and laughter says it all.

Watch:

"Let's take it to the bank, then!" Heck yeah, kid.

People are fondly remembering their own first paychecks

Many viral videos of first paycheck reveals include complaints about how much is taken out in taxes, so it's refreshing to see this young man's joy at his after-tax pay. It was a beautiful moment to capture on film, as most of us remember that feeling of empowerment that came with our own first real paychecks.

People in the comments are feeling the nostalgia:

"I remember that feeling - pretty sweet to see money you earned yourself. Feels good earning your own cash."

"God that first paycheck felt so unreal. I will never forget you ace hardware."

"I remember my first paycheck was for like $300 after two weeks of being a counselor and I felt RICH. I immediately spent it all on a guitar that I still have 20 years later."

"I remember mine - from my first proper job. £64.29 in a little brown packet with holes in it to see the cash inside. 1980. 😂"

"My first “paycheck” was like $65, I was so proud. I took my mom to pizzeria to treat her and she was very very touched."

"Man… I remember my first paycheck… 23 years ago now. For two weeks of what limited hours I could work being 14 years old… that baby was $96.19! HO-LY smokes was I on cloud 9. Cashed it right there at work and bought myself a bag of Skittles. It was a good day."

first paycheck, milestone, adulthood, working, accomplishment That first paycheck feeling. Image via Canva.

Ah, to be young and unencumbered by adult expenses

Part of what makes this endearing is the innocence of it. As a teen, he's not worried about affording a mortgage or groceries or diapers or retirement savings. His elation over making $283 is adorable because he's just starting down the path of adulthood. Soon enough, that paycheck will seem small, but he's not there yet.

Such is the "first paycheck joy," that TikTok is rife with adorable videos of young people opening their first paychecks after working their first real jobs.

@fuck3n_andre

Taco Bell on me 😭 I was fully expecting like $200😂 #fypage #firstjob #job #first #firstpaycheck #fyp #foryoupage #viral

When you're a kid, money is kind of an abstract concept. Maybe you get a small allowance or get paid a few bucks for odd jobs, and opening a birthday card with some cash in it is exciting. It's not until you're fully into the working world for a while that the regular flow of money and what it means for your life really sinks in.

It's not until you're a fully independent adult that you really grasp how relative your feelings about your paycheck can be. There's a big difference between being a 16-year-old getting your first paycheck and being a 30-year-old trying to raise a family on wages that don't cover all your needs. Things like cost-of-living and inflation start to actually mean something as you get older and experience their impact. You might find that you can make a lot more money and yet feel poorer than ever as expenses pile up into adulthood.

paycheck, working, making money, growing up, money It's all relative.i.giphy.com

Don't we all wish we could go back to the hopeful, happy days of making our first real chunk of money before all of those grown-up concerns arose? That simple sense of pride in having worked hard and earned something. The excitement of being able to pay for something you want yourself. The sense of freedom that comes with those early earnings. We see and feel all of that in this teen's bright smile, and it's glorious.

He may not realize how different he might feel opening his paychecks down the road, but there's no need to tell him yet. He'll find out soon enough, as we all have, so let's just let him enjoy this moment of bliss. He's earned it.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Woman's whimsical 'Wheel of Fortune' guess is so bad it made her an instant legend

People prefer her guess to the actual answer.

@Rick_Life_Coach/X

Can you solve this "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle?

Watching a game show from the comfort of home is easy. Being on one is a totally different ball game. The lights, the cameras, the pressure. It's enough to make anyone's brain freeze up. And is there any game show that allows contestants to royally embarrass themselves on national TV quite like Wheel of Fortune? There’s always someone going viral for taking a big swing and missing on a phrase that seemed pretty apparent to the casual viewer. And when you take a big loss on a WOF word puzzle, there are a lot of folks shaking their heads at home. More than 8 million people watch the game show every night. Yikes.

One rather notorious of the wheel was Gishma Tabari from Encino, California, whose fantasy-inspired whiff of a common phrase back in 2023 earned her a lot of groans and some support from those who thought her imagination was inspiring. The 3-word puzzle read: “TH _ _ RITI _ S _ GR _ E,” and Tabari offered the answer, “The British Ogre.” The guess surprised host Pat Sajak, who responded, "Uh, no.” Tabari must have missed that there was a space between the R and the E in the puzzle, so ogre would have had to be spelled with 2 Rs.

She also probably wasn’t aware that England isn’t a place known for its ogres. The correct answer was: “The Critics Agree.”

The answer inspired a lot of activity on X, where people couldn’t believe someone could come up with such a fanciful answer to a puzzle with such a straightforward solution.







One person even created a lovely image of what could be the British Ogre.

Although…not everyone had a problem with the guess.

"OK, the puzzle was clearly THE CRITICS AGREE but to be honest I prefer THE BRITISH OGRE because the puzzles could use some more wacky originality sometimes.#WheelOfFortune"— Pasha Paterson (@zer0bandwidth) December 13, 2023

On the bright side, the incorrect guess is an opportunity for the world to learn that ogres aren’t a significant part of English folklore. Sure, there are characters in English myths and legends that have ogre-like qualities, such as Grendel from "Beowulf," the monstrous creature that terrorizes the mead hall of King Hrothgar. There’s also the Boggart, a mischievous spirit much like a hobgoblin and trolls, which appear in some English tales although they originate in Scandinavia.

If you’re looking for ogres in Europe, France is the best place to go.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The word ogre is of French descent and comes from the name of the Etruscan god of the underworld, Orcus. Orcus is a large, ugly, bearded giant who enjoys consuming human flesh. Ogres are primarily known for eating children, which they believe will give them eternal life.

As for Wheel of Fortune, the show will undergo significant changes over the next few years. The show’s host, Pat Sajak, 76, stepped down from the show at the end of the 2024 season after hosting it for 41 years. In September 2024, radio host and “American Idol” emcee Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting spot.

Although, it was just announced that Sajak would be making a special guest appearance on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, performing what he called "Final Spin."

And in case you're wondering how Tabari is doing: on her Instagram she wears her "Wheel of Fortune Flub Girl" title with pride, declaring she is "British Ogre for life."

This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.

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Single guy asks married men their biggest regrets. It's heartbreaking and hopeful all at once.

"My faith in the institution of marriage is restored"

Photo credit: Canva

Man asks married men their biggest marriage regret, they deliver.

Not everyone wants to get married, but for those that do, marriage is considered one big 'final' step in a relationship. It's something that people think about from the time they can grasp the concept of relationships. When you factor that in with the high divorce rate, it makes sense that people want to ensure they're getting it right before taking the leap.

Typically, people ask their close inner circle for relationship advice. Leaning on people like their parents, siblings or friends who have been married to fill in the gaps of knowledge. However, with the world becoming smaller than ever due to social media, it takes little effort to gather collective knowledge from thousands of people within your target audience.

Surprisingly, people are pretty forthcoming to strangers on the internet looking for support and help. One man who goes by the name King Boiza decided to ask his internet advisors, "Married men, what is your greatest regret about marriage? Advise the single boys. It could be about anything." The married men didn't hesitate to answer the call in the most genuinely wholesome way.

divorce, marriage, biggest marriage regret, reasons for divorce, married couple, married man, marriage A happily married couple.via Canva/Photos

Gleaning collective wisdom from those more experienced than you is a common practice, but being able to do it in such a significant way is relatively new. Different life experiences lead to different perspectives that can be invaluable to someone still learning.

The advice provided ranged from warnings to what could be seen as universal truths about marriage.

"Your wife becomes the words you speak upon her, I regret not speaking life and good upon her," one man shares.

"In times of trouble, remember...It's not you against her but the both of you, against the problem...," someone writes.

"Listen when she speaks from the heart, once she feels unheard, she will be closed off for a long time if not forever," another advises.

"Not all women age gracefully with all their good looks and physique. Marry her for more reasons beyond her body and beauty. Seek a FOREVER," one commenter says.

"The grass is NEVER greener on the other side. NEVER," a man wrote.

"Don’t let the family you come from destroy the family you create," a commenter added.

"Be the partner you're looking for!" a man wrote.

"The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together," a married man wrote.

"Remember that you are not married to your idea of your wife but to who your wife is. Love her for who is she is not who you want her to be," one man commented.

"No regrets, just advice I’ve adhered to for 15+years of marriage. Lead by example. Create the emotional space for her that you want mirrored. Set boundaries and always keep your word above all else!" a commenter wrote.

"Sometimes all you have to do is listen to her," a man wrote.

divorce, marriage, biggest marriage regret, reasons for divorce, wedding, pastor, reverend, marriage vows A couple getting married.via Canva/Photos

Forbes reports that 43% of first marriages end in divorce with the number significantly increasing with each subsequent marriage. Finding out the regrets, struggles and triumphs of other marriages may help others feel more prepared to commit to marriage with a bit of a roadmap laid in front of them.

It's clear from the comments under the post that marriage takes work and while some of the men admittedly misstepped, they seem eager to share with others so they avoid the same mistakes.

"My biggest regret in marriage was to cheat, and I'm telling you...my wife was never the same...so my advice is never cheat, never ever," one guy confesses.


divorce, marriage, biggest marriage regret, reasons for divorce, marriage advice, single men, marriage questions Kingboiza asks men about marriage.www.tiktok.com


"We tend to take our spouse for granted once we get married. Continue to invest your time in her. You won't regret it and she'll know that you really see her," one man shares.

But it wasn't only men who dropped by the comment section. Women stopped to share their appreciation for the wisdom being left for all to see.

"After reading this comment section, my faith in the institution of marriage is restored. Relationships are not perfect, but we gotta try with people who want to try," one woman writes.

"I don't know why I'm crying...I guess I never knew men like these existed...Your wives must be blessed," another woman shares.

If you need a dose of healthy masculinity and wholesome advice for lasting partnerships, look no further than that comment section. They're saving some future couple from heartache by simply showing up to answer a stranger's question on the internet.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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A 92-yr-old former ballet dancer with dementia wrote this achingly beautiful poem about aging

Poetry can help people with dementia find their voice, and the results are incredible.

Photo credit: Canva

"I am still a dancer made of song."

Poetry is an oft-misunderstood, but incredibly powerful art form. Humans have been writing poetry for thousands of years, communicating feelings and ideas in beautiful, powerful ways that prose just can't quite reach. Poetry can be hard to define, but you know it when you see it—or rather, when you feel it.

Emily Dickinson once wrote, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” A poem hits you somewhere—your brain, your heart, your gut. And one poem that packs an incredibly moving punch has come from an unlikely source—an elderly woman with dementia.

elderly woman, dementia, caregiver, poetry, former dancer A woman with dementia wrote a poem with one of her children and it's bringing people to tears. Photo credit: Canva

Poet Joseph Fasano shared a message from a fan who shared that they had brought his book, "The Magic Words: Simple Poetry Prompts That Unlock the Creativity in Everyone," to their mother, a 92-year-old former ballet dancer living with dementia. The mother was excited to write a poem, and they slowly worked through a prompt from the book together aloud.

This poem was the result:

"Let the days be warm

Let the fall be long.

Let every child inside me find her shoes

and dance wildly, softly, toward the world.

I have a story I have never told

Once, when I was small,

I looked up at the sky and saw the wind

and knew I was a dancer made of song.

I am still a dancer made of song."

Wow. What a testament to the power of poetry to reach beyond our usual modes of communication, which dementia so cruelly disrupts. In a few simple lines, we're able to see this woman as she might see herself, as the human living under the veils of age and disease: "I am still a dancer made of song."

Poetry prompts can help people express themselves

The person who shared the poem thanked Fasano for "helping people find their voices," which is exactly what his book of poetry prompts was meant to do.

The Magic Words book by Joseph Fasano, poetry prompts "The Magic Words" is a book of poetry prompts from Joseph Fasano. Amazon


In the book's introduction, Fasano shares that he'd been invited to speak to a class of second graders in New Jersey in 2022 to share "the craft and magic of poetry." As part of his efforts, he came up with a poetry prompt that could "help guide their imaginations" and "unlock the images, thoughts and feelings inside them, without asking them to worry about how to structure a poem." He called the results "astonishing." When he shared one of the students' poems on social media, it and the prompt took off like wildfire, as people who never thought of themselves as poets felt empowered to share their imaginations within that framework.

From 7-year-olds to 92-year-olds, anyone can benefit from the self-expression that poetry facilitates, but many people feel hesitant or intimidated by the idea of writing a poem. Fasano writes, "Poetry is what happens when we let ourselves be," and this idea seems so clear than in the former dancer's poem above. Dementia can create roadblocks, but poetry provides a different avenue of communication.

Caregivers try many different ways to communicate with people living with dementia. Photo credit: Canva

The arts can be a powerful tool for people with dementia

Using poetry to help dementia patients communicate and express themselves isn't just wishful thinking. Studies have demonstrated that cultural arts interventions, including poetry specifically, can be beneficial for people with dementia. In fact, the Alzheimer's Poetry Project (APP) aims to use poetry as a means of improving the quality of life of people living with dementia by facilitating creative expression. "We do not set boundaries in our beliefs in what possible for people with memory impairment to create," the APP website states. "By saying to people with dementia, we value you and your creativity; we are saying we value all members of our community."

Fasano has shared that a team of doctors has begun using his poetry prompts to "give people with dementia a voice again."

Poet Gary Glazner, who founded APP, shared a story with WXPR radio about how he came up with the idea while studying poetry at Sonoma State University:

“I applied for a grant and got a grant to work at an adult care program. The moment I love to share with people is there was a guy in the group, head down, not participating and I said the Longfellow poem. ‘I shot an arrow into the air’ and his eyes popped open and he said, ‘It fell to earth I know not where.’ And suddenly he was with us and participating. It was just this powerful moment to see how poetry could be of use to elders but specifically with people with dementia."

Whether we read it, write it, speak it or hear it, poetry has the power to reach people of all ages in all kinds of mysterious ways.

You can follow Joseph Fasano on Twitter and Instagram, and find his books on Amazon.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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