It's Like the Beginning of an Era

It's Like the Beginning of an Era is a pre-canon story by Kristen Bealer.

In "Daria Dance Party", Sandi flashes back to when she had to plan a dance, with less-than-stellar results. This story explains what happened leading up to that dance at Glenfield Middle School, as a seventh-grade Sandi - feeling like a nobody and worried about how her mother pushes her to be more popular - and decides leading the school dance committee will get her noticed.

It serves as a background story for various other characters as well, most notably Upchuck.