Author: Jessica L Gardner
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Let’s Talk About Sex
How did you learn about sex? We all have a story and my completely unscientific discussions with friends tell me that learning about the facts of life (not those Facts of Life) is often embarrassing and riddled with euphemisms. I recently saw a story about Marjorie Holsten, described as a homeschooling expert by Tea Party…
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Lies My Parents Told Me
Things have been kind of heavy here at Little Merry Sunshine recently, so I’m going to lighten the mood a little for the next few days. Over at The Tot Wrangler, a wonderful ChicagoNow blog that you should be reading, there’s been a very lively discussion about lies parents tell their children. Read Part 1…
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Mental Health Awareness Month Celebrated by ChicagoNow
May was Mental Health Awareness Month and the incredible bloggers of ChicagoNow shared their incredibly personal stories and expertise with more than 30 posts on the topic. Most of the bloggers who wrote are not mental health professionals, but there is at least one Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Nicole Knepper, writer of Moms Who Drink…
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Does Facebook condone child pornography?
Earlier tonight a fellow ChicagoNow blogger and friend of mine linked a video on Facebook and commented “(For the second time today) Jesus take the wheel.” I looked at the screen shot of the video and saw two girls dancing. Knowing my friend, I figured the video would be some sort of spoof or parody…
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Mental Health Awareness Month: Keep talking to stamp out stigma
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it ends in just a couple of hours. Although Mental Health Awareness Month is over, mental illness never ends. There are always people who are suffering or who have family or friends who are suffering. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 1 in 4 people…
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We never met, but my grandfather, Jesse Paulk, shaped my life
If I could meet anyone in the world, I’d choose to go back to before September 12, 1961 and meet my maternal grandfather, Jesse Paulk. September 12, 1961 was my mom’s 13th birthday and also the day my grandfather died. I was given my name, Jessica, in his memory. My mom’s brother also named his…
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End mental illness stigma, save lives
Three things happened on Friday that I can’t get out of my head. On the surface, they’re unrelated. But in my head, they’re intricately woven and the direct result of what happens when we continue to stigmatize mental illness, cut mental health services, and look the other way when people are desperately struggling. First, I…
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Happy Memorial Day Weekend
I love Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a three-day weekend and the first work holiday since New Year’s for many adults. It’s the unofficial kickoff to Summer, although in Chicago this year no one knows for sure. It marks about three weeks to my favorite holiday of the year – my birthday. And, of course, it’s…
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17 ways to help yourself when you have mental illness
In response to my recent post, 10 Things I Know About Mental Illness, I received some incredible comments. I love the discussion that was started. Thank you for reading the post, liking, commenting, and sharing it. Education is the only thing that will end the stigma and prejudice. It is beyond time to bring mental…
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Advice to new graduates: A ChicagoNow series
Just like we did with the Letters to New Moms series, ChicagoNow bloggers have once again joined forces to share our life wisdom in a new series, Advice to New Graduates. One of the things I love most about being a CN blogger is that, although each blogger develops his or her own individual brand,…
Jessica L Gardner 