Dear Danica: A Reminder

My schedule has definitely intensified over the past few weeks - I have 2 more committee meetings taking up time after school, at least an hour or two of reading and writing each night for my Masters, roughly 3-4 hours per week for my new calling in Young Womens, regular chores/laundry/gym/cooking etc, and spending all my extra time working on my new blog update (to be revealed soon!).

{Also today and tomorrow I'll be working 13 hour days for Parent-Teacher Conferences - thankfully I get Friday off though!}

I'm not complaining. This is not only 100% normal and doable, but also way less than most supermoms tackle in a single DAY. It just means I have to prioritize and plan much more than I usual do. I'm now hyper-aware of when and where I'm spending my hours.

A few days ago I opened up my bloglovin to find hundreds of unread posts, some most for blogs I haven't caught up on in a month or more. 

Then I opened Twitter to scroll through and see tweets from people that I had to stop and ask "Wait. Who is this? Is this a blogger? Random person I followed back? Douchey guy from high school that just subtweets girl problems?"

Next it was Instagram, to much the same effect. "Who is this girl? I don't even like her outfit. Why can I see more boobs than your face, sweetie? Why am I following 100 random small fashion companies?"

I have a stack of 3 books I've checked out from the library and started, but not finished. 

I publish my little brother's letters on a blog and post them on his Facebook and Twitter to make the posts accessible to his friends to keep in touch. I noticed that MY BABY BROTHER, who isn't even in the continental US or tweeting regularly has almost 500 followers. 

I've been working on my blog update and thinking a lot about the type of blogger I want to be and if I'm the type to ever have hundreds of followers or sponsors or the whole shebang. How much do I really care about the internet? What does it mean for my life?

So this is a reminder to you, Danica Holdaway. Because you forget this all the time. 

It's ok to unfollow tweeters you find boring and Instagrammers you find slutty.

It's ok if people unfollow you or don't follow you in the first place. It's about quality, not quantity. Don't compromise your humor, beliefs or personality for a number. 

It's ok to not read the "IT" blogs that everyone seems to love. Sometimes things just aren't for you.

It's ok if you don't feel the desire to sponsor or be sponsored. 

It's ok if you don't post every day or even every week. This is YOUR blog, not anyone else's.

It's ok if you don't read all the blog posts each day. They'll survive.

It's ok if you don't think of something hilarious or cute every single day. Absence makes the heart grow fonder or something?

It's ok to blow off an hour to just read, or nap, or Pinterest. Your head will explode if you don't.


Take a breath, Danica. Blogging is weird and kind of stupid, but fun. That's all it needs to be. 

Let those Instagram, Twitter and Facebook icons rest. Social Media is awesome, but shouldn't be a chore. 

Be yourself and let the internet world work for YOU, not the other way around. 


Incidentally, I love all you readers. You make my life better and I love you. I love you! Thanks for everything. You keep me going and keep me inspired. Big hugs coming through this screen for you. 

xoxo Gossip Girl/Danica

How to Interpret the Finals Week Posts In Your Feed

It's that time of year. The lovely, refreshing, rebirth of all the idiots who try to out-finals one another.

For your convenience, I put together a basic list of interpretations:

"I have 27 papers, 14 projects and 9 finals this week! Omg!" = I'm an idiot that can't read a course catalog.

"I slept 5 hours in the last 2 days! Soooooo TiReD!" = I'm an idiot that can't manage my time.

*Picture of $300 worth of junk food* "Must be finals week LOL" = I'm an idiot that needs constant sugar breaks to help my short attention span while "studying." BONUS - also an idiot that will act pissed about getting sick during/after finals while treating my body like crap before/during finals.

"Looks like I'll be cramming all night!" = I'm an idiot that was lazy all semester and did nothing to study or prepare for class.

"Here comes finals! I'm SCREWED! Wish me luck!" = I'm an idiot that is scared and desperately needs others to diminish their feelings of guilt and worthlessness.

"You know you're screwed when you don't even recognize some words on the review! #help" = I'm an idiot that never went to class because I slept through it even though it was at 11 am.

"My professor is INSANE! How can you assign this much for FINALS WEEK?!" = I'm an idiot who doesn't understand the rigor of a college education and has to blame mistakes on others.

"Just failed that final, and guess what? I don't even care! YOLO!" = I'm an idiot that is intensely concerned about that test score and feels like the idiot that I am.

"I handed in my papers late and 50% done, but whatever because I'M GRADUATEDDDDDD!!!!" = I'm an idiot that you will now have to deal with in the professional workforce. Congratulations.

What are Marijuana Tablets?

What if, as a teacher, I took a strange liking to one of my students?

What if he was underage and I was a weirdo 40-something?

What if I followed him on Twitter?

What if I, after weirdly stalking his Twitter feed, noticed he had a party at his house over the weekend and one of his sketchy friends tweeted about having ecstasy at said party?

Would I ask the sketchy kid who tweeted about it? Would I ask the student who had the party, who is my student and and I respect?

Would I submit a concern to the administration, the people who's job is to deal with student discipline?

Or would I decide to announce to not one, but ALL of my classes the next day about the "ecstasy party" and the bad high school kids who would throw such a party, based solely on a tweet I saw while STALKING a TEENAGE BOY'S twitter feed?

No. The answer is - I wouldn't.

Because I'm not a psycho who follows her teenage male students on Twitter.

Because I have half a brain and understand that MAYBE a teenage boy can tweet something that isn't true simply for the comedic value. Call me crazy.

Because I would ask the real person who tweeted about ecstasy, not the respectable, stand-up young man who works so hard in my AP class and has never done anything remotely delinquent.

Because if I were concerned, I would address that stand-up young man personally, privately to ascertain the truth.

Because sharing that a kid who had a party last weekend (everyone knew about the party AND who threw it) was a bad kid and had drugs and alcohol at his party MIGHT be considered slander and is a generally terrible thing to share even if it WERE true. Which it isn't.

Because what would happen if that untrue information started being spread around town by people who don't know the stand-up young gentleman and might believe it?

Because I'm not only a normal human being, but I understand that as an educator I have a reasonable duty to be a positive influence and have a shred of integrity.

There is someone at Maple Mountain High School who does not share these values (also called common sense).

It's a good thing my little brother is the amazing kid that he is.

It's a good thing he has built such a good, honest, strong reputation that most people know he would never have ECSTASY at a party, or even be anywhere near it.

It's a good thing he's so mellow and such a good sport, which has enabled him to roll with this.

It's a good thing it wasn't me. Because she'd be sitting in front of the Board of Education explaining why she did all the aforementioned things.

My brother is the best kid I know, a worthy priesthood holder and a total drug-free rock star. And no, there was not ecstasy at his very clean, very Mormon party.

So the next time you want to make up some crap about a student and spread that around the school like a 13 year old girl, you better pick a different target than Mitchell Jeffrey Budge. 

Because no one messes with my family and gets away with it. You think this is bad? I get all my feisty from my momma. And you haven't even had to deal with her yet. Be afraid. Be very afraid. 

All the Nice Things are for "Guests"

In case you missed it (meaning you aren't on Twitter), I was a guest blogger for the redeemingly bitchy and relentlessly hilarious Untypically Jia over the weekend while she enjoyed a nice little vacation. Click here and please enjoy!