You are important.

I may not be the best writer in the world. I may never get there. My blog is fluff most of the time; at least that is how I feel lately. That’s why I don’t write all that much anymore. There is one thing that I know; I am passionate. I… love. I am driven by this need to help people. Ultimately, maybe that is really what I want my writing to do.

Ultimately, it is what I want to do.

Here is what else (some words that I less wrote that more so escaped):

I see you. You’re depressed. You’ve been hurt. You are broken. I love you. It’s going to be okay. I’ve been you; I am you.

I want to reach out and touch you because I know it feels impossible. I want you to know that you can grow stronger because of this. It isn’t your fault. You aren’t weak. You are strong and you are beautiful.

Listen to me! Don’t listen to them! Don’t listen to those that hate, that mock. You CAN make it. You CAN find happiness. It is okay to need help. It is okay to sometimes feel the way you do. It is normal. You are not bad; you are not wrong; you are not damaged; you are good. You know this; you want to know this.

Please, listen to me. Reach out to those around you. Reach out far. There is someone who wants you to be happy. They won’t always get it right, but there is always someone there who can help. They want to help, just like I want to help.

If I could, I would do all that I could to fix your life, but we are strangers only united by that idea. What I can do is maybe tell you honestly that I have been there, and some days, some months, some years, I still am. But I am still here. And I can do good. I can love. I do love. Very much. I think that it is worth something… I know I am worth something. And you are too, even though some days you don’t believe it, maybe even most days.

Please remember what I am saying. Remember what you read here; if you ever feel broken down, if you ever feel like you can’t make it. You can. You are beautiful and strong. This is important.

Reach out to me, reach out to anyone. You matter. You are loved. You are important.

Love, love, and more love,

Danielle

Hello there, old friends

I don’t know where I am going in the blogging world. I don’t even(especially) know where I am going in the real world. I know I want to do some pretty tremendous things in both of these dimensions, though. What is holding me back (in both cases)? Fear. Fear of failure, and stress (and, well, quite frankly, time). I want to do that thing where I say I am going to do my best to worry less about everything (in life and the blogosphere), and just write and let the words flow, and I am going to get back on top of things, blah blah blah… But that wouldn’t be fair to anyone, because who the hell knows what is going to happen (and if i had to guess I would say I am probably not going to immediately stop stressing about every damn thing, and I would be lying if i said otherwise)?

Here is what I will say: I miss writing to an audience. I get freaked out a lot and worry too much about people disliking what I have to say or just plain disliking me, but in the end I really love reaching out to you–yeah, you, right there, right now, reading my words. Thank you. You are absolutely phenomenal. Now here is what I am going to do: Shut up about my anxiety, shut up the whining about how I never blog and why I don’t blog and yada yada…and I am just going to jump back in, and see what happens.

Go.

So, I have 3 things I just want to share with you lovely, lovely people:

Numero uno:

I need to brag about how awesome my damn boyfriend is. Not only has he been my best friend and so much more than that for..hmm…about 5 years now (holy hell, really? wow, okay, gross–moving on), he is also, get this, a freaking spectacular guy, who does phenomenally cool things. (Can you believe he would stay with a lady like me, who embarasses him like this, for THAT LONG??) Any-who, cutting to the chase– My honey Matthew Tate (previously author of OverTheBoards and co-author of SportsDudes) is the new official Capitals blogger for Kukla’s Korner! Hell yes! Do yourself a favor, hockey fans, and go check that shit out. He does a damn good job. The only way I can see it getting even better is if he will go on and name me his official editor, because you know I just love fixing typos, and I am going to read every post anyway (and I am awesome! And modest!)! (Okay, he is actually pretty good with fixing them himself, don’t let my teasing make you think otherwise, I simply must poke fun.) So yeah, you won’t meet many men that know hockey like mine does (or sports for the matter) and you sure as hell won’t find many that know it and can write it. Click on some of those wonderful links and follow him through this upcoming hockey season and beyond. Go ahead and follow him on Twitter @FStreetTate to hear more sports and other good stuff. Oh! And follow me too @Danicngbarefoot!

Numero dos:

I just finished reading a really great book by Peggy Orenstein, also a pretty swell blogger–and basically if you are a mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent, women, or man, (or anything far off or in between) then I believe you should read it too. It is titled Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Girlie-Girl Culture. Orenstein gives amazing insight, advice, and eye-opening information. I simply loved it, and think this women is the bee’s knees.

And now, Numero tres:

My darling sister shared a delightful music video with me yesterday, and I think it is just fantastic, sends a great message, and is very catchy! Ladies, this is for you:

Love, Love, Love Your Vagina (Warning: If you find the title of the link offensive, aw hell, click it anyway you coward!)

Th-th-th-th-th-that’s all folks! Well, that’s all for now, anyway. Thanks for your time!

–

(Dani)osaur

Simple Pleasure #3

A little late in the day, but nonetheless…

Picnics

Whether spontaneous or planned, traditional or picking up fast food and heading to the park, going to the park/beach or spreading out a blanket in your front yard on a pretty day, picnics are fantastic.  Personally, I try to keep a good picnic blanket in the car at all times, just in case. “]  I see no reason to ever eat indoors and waste the beautiful weather, not every day can be sunny and nice.

One of my favorite days was picking up some food from Burger King (I love their veggie burgers!), grabbing the blanket, and heading to the park with Matthew to sit down and eat.  Afterward we played on the playground, which was a total plus.  And this was in January, which proves that picnic weather can appear at any time and should be taken advantage of.

I think it’s really important to remember that the simplest things that we can do, like taking our lunch outside and spending time with each other, are the things that can be most filled with joy.  How can we stand to forget how much fun picnics can be?

And, how much fun food is. “]

Picnics win.