By Abby Gotzkowsky and Kate Bilbro
Photo by Lyon Washington
We are introducing a brand new advice column called “Dear Abby (and Kate),” answered by Willow students Abby Gotzgowsky and Kate Bilbro. This column is based on the decades-long syndicated advice column called “Dear Abby,” which ran in more than 1,200 newspapers at its peak. Started in 1956, it began by Pauline Phillips and is today carried on by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips. The column still appears in many newspapers nationwide.
Our very own Willow version will work like this: If you’re interested in asking us a question, please write it down and drop it off in our question box, which is placed at the front desk. Questions can range from advice on personal matters to opinionated questions about larger social issues. Just keep it school appropriate, as always! We want to answer as many questions as possible and hope everyone enjoys “Dear Abby (and Kate).”
- What is your Roman Empire?
Recently, a trend on social media, especially TikTok, has gone viral. Several people began to realize how often men think about the Roman Empire on a day-to-day basis. Once this caught on, people would ask boys they knew, “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” After interviewing multiple boys at school, we found out that quite a few of them think about the Roman Empire often. A few direct responses we received are as follows: “A bit more than a normal person,” “Honestly, I think about it a lot,” and “I’d say bi-weekly.” So, what is our Roman Empire?
There are so many options that we could choose from, but ultimately we concluded that our Roman empire is Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj has been relevant in pop culture ever since her debut album, Pink Friday. We are both fans of her music, and Kate even dressed up as Nicki Minaj with her look from the Beauty and the Beat music video.
- How did you two become friends?
We went to elementary school together, and we were the opposite of friends. We remained distant until one day in fifth grade when we were assigned as bus partners on a field trip. We barely spoke to each other on the ride, but after a stop at the gas station, Kate revealed to Abby that she got regular M&Ms instead of peanuts because she knew that Abby had a peanut allergy. We have been friends ever since.
- Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Contrary to popular opinion, Abby is Team Jacob. In the Twilight Saga, Edward always looks scary and seems controlling in his relationship with Bella, but Jacob and Bella complement each other better. Abby has not seen all of the movies, so her stance could be biased. Kate has never seen a movie from The Twilight Saga.
4. What is your favorite color?
Kate’s favorite is blue, and Abby’s favorite is green.
5. Do you prefer Instagram reels or TikTok?
We like instagram reels more. We think they’re funnier and have greater entertainment value than TikTok. We also see a lot of old videos that we saw when we were younger on reels, which we really enjoy because of the nostalgia. Another benefit of Instagram reels is that if we get bored, we can scroll through our homepages and see our friends’ posts, and the posts that pop up after those. Our TikTok for you page is never that interesting. We’ll get a funny video every once in a while, whereas almost all of the Instagram reels we see are funny and entertaining.
6. What is your favorite sport?
Abby’s favorite is volleyball, and Kate prefers pickleball.
