Editorials

04/21/16

An Open Letter to High School Students

While I am only one teacher voicing one humble teacher’s opinion, this is a letter intended for high school students everywhere. Maybe this applies to you and maybe not. Maybe you read it and think back to your high school days and realize, “that was so me.” Maybe not. Either way, read this with an open mind, an open heart, and minimal eye rolling please. Because I’m telling you all the secrets behind me being a teacher; all the deep dark truths behind my methods and strictness that you might not realize. I’m speaking to you frankly because I know you’re equipped to take a real assessment of yourself after being confronted from a place of care.

Often when people think of a teacher’s job, they comment on the benefits of the schedule- getting off work at 3, winter break, spring break, and all those random days off in between. But what you don’t realize is that when you leave school and head to soccer practice, play rehearsal, your job, or home, pushing all thoughts of school and teachers far from your brains, is that I’m thinking about you.

Kind of a lot. Like, all the time. And maybe not in the way you think.

04/19/16

The Cool Club You Need to Be In

Do you remember in grammar school when “clubs” were all the rage? I was a founder of several exclusive clubs, which really upped my playground status- you had to know the secret password and everything. Then you move from student council and yearbook clubs in high school to sorority and fraternities in college; we clearly have this strong desire to compartmentalize ourselves and our interests, so that begs the question: what’s left for adulthood?

Enter Club W to the rescue, the best kind of club for adults. I was so thrilled when they reached out to me to see what they were all about.

Let me ask you: do you like wine? Sparkling wine? A good deal? Well, then you’ll happily be accepted into this wonderful club. Let me give you the run down.

04/8/16

How to Contact Huffington Post

Bloggers and writers like to connect with their readers as much as possible; that’s why most writers aspire to publish their work places outside their personal blog or website, such as on Huffington Post. Contributing to Huffington Post gives a great boost to your portfolio and adds credibility to your name as a writer, and on a personal level, it allows you to potentially reach an unlimited audience. People all around the world read HuffPost daily, and it’s a useful platform to expand your readership and get your message out there to the masses.

For instance, my post Why I Kept My Surname After Marriage, one of the earliest posts on my blog, received only 464 views. When I posted on Huffington Post, it went viral. While the metrics are difficult to track and are limited through HuffPost (you will never know your page views), you can measure the social shares and likes. Viral numbers are obviously subjective, but for me, 70,000 Facebook likes and thousands of social shares, not to mention the story being translated and published in Japan and France in a matter of three days was viral enough for little ole’ me!