TikTalk: A mental health check-in: ‘bones’ and ‘no bones’ days

“Work hard, play hard.” That’s the mentality most people at USC tend to have. We are trained to think that, if you are not spending every hour of your day doing something productive, you are wasting time.  

It might be impossible to retrain our brains to think otherwise, but have no fear, a 13-year-old pug named Noodles reminds us that it’s OK to slow down and take time for yourself. 

This sounds completely bizarre if you have not seen the videos of Noodles going viral on TikTok, but this dog has become the new version of Co-Star, the astrology app that gives your daily horoscope. 

Every day Jonathan Graziano, or @jongraz, posts a video of another round of ‘no bones.’ As he likes to put it: “The game where we find out if my 13-year-old pug woke up with bones and, as a result, we’ll find out what kind of day we’re going to have.”

You might be wondering, what exactly does that even mean? Well, first, let’s get one thing straight — Jonathan does not mean his dog literally wakes up with or without bones. Second, there are two possible outcomes to Jonathan’s videos. It is either a “bones day” or a “no bones day.”

If Noodles stands up firmly in his dog bed, it is a “bones day.” If Noodles sinks into his dog bed, slipping through his owner’s fingers as if he were an actual noodle, then it is a “no bones” day. 

A “bones day” is a good thing, a day to get stuff done, get your life together and, well, girlboss. “No bones day” are not bad, but rather they are days where you should take a minute to breathe. Take care of yourself, your mental health and just treat yourself to the things that make you happy. 

These days, people have attributed their good days to Noodles having a “bones” day and their not-so-good days to Noodles having a “no bones” day.

Take Gaurav’s (@gvedak) tweet, for example, where he predicted the World Series based off of Noodles’ forecast of a “bones” or “no bones” day.

“Past two Braves wins against the Dodgers have been on bones days, and after no bones day yesterday, we are back to a bones day,” wrote Gaurav on Twitter. “What this all is leading me to say is, Braves in 6.”

(We should take a note from Gaurav’s book and attribute any USC football wins or losses to Noodles’ bones forecast.)

So, why did I decide to write about a 13-year-old dog who happens to get millions of views on TikTok when I could have written about anything else?

While “bones” and “no bones” day seem like it is all fun and games, Noodles’ daily videos give us the perfect reminder of the importance of mental health.

The last year and a half has taken a real toll on our bodies, especially mentally. Being stuck inside, logging on to Zoom call after Zoom call and most of all losing out on a significant experience of our life — college. 

Trying to function like everything is OK in the middle of a pandemic is really difficult. Our schools and jobs tell us it is okay to return to normal and be in-person, but it isn’t the same. Masks, Trojan Checks and weekly coronavirus tests remind us of that. 

On top of the pandemic, learning of the trauma faced by members of our USC community, like what we have seen in the past week, adds extra weight to the hurt we push ourselves through everyday. 

Mental health is not an easy subject to discuss and many people do not feel comfortable talking about it with their friends. I think Noodles has provided a great icebreaker to have these conversations; that is, we can ask people if they are having a “bones” or “no bones” day, week or month. 

While their response may be short, it will say a lot. From there we can provide support, comfort and encouragement to those we love. 

Not only that, don’t limit yourself to just asking your friends; we can’t forget to ask ourselves if we’re having a “no bones” or “bones” day. It is just as important to evaluate your own mental health on a regular basis because that is just as valuable. 

What is cool about a “bones” or “no bones” check in is that it can be added to your daily or weekly routine and it takes such a short time. It provides a less daunting way to reflect on yourself while also being a great way to help stabilize your own mental health. 

No, Noodles’ forecasts won’t be the end all be all of our days, but I do think they will be a small reminder of how important it is to take care of yourself — something we all probably struggle to do. 

Trinity Gomez is a senior writing about TikTok and popular culture. Her column, “TikTalk,” runs every other Friday.