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TAGGED : ask mary jo

Teen’s unexpected loss of friendship not uncommon

Q. My best friend since kindergarten is no longer my friend. I don’t know what I did. She won’t talk to me. What do I do? –13-year-old Mary Jo’s Response: I do wish this wasn’t ...

Coping with the loss of a loved one

Q. My gram died. This is the first death I’ve understood. My pap died when I was four, but I don’t really remember it. My gram meant a great deal to me. I would go to her house when I didn’t get along with my sisters. I’m the middle child and the only boy, so that happened a lot. She ...

Teen questions book banning

In honor of Banned Book Week 2024 (Sept. 22-28), I’m looking back at a poignant question posed to me two years ago by a 16-year-old. A Tennessee school district had just voted to ban Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” about the Holocaust due to “inappropriate ...

Time management tips for teens and adults alike

Q: I started reading your column in 8th grade because my dad made me read it, but for a while I’ve been reading it because I enjoy it. I like the way you listen to teens. I read your column where you supported an anxious college freshman. Your advice was excellent. I thought I’d write to ...

Relationships end for many reasons

Q. My mom and dad got a divorce. My mom made me go to a counselor to make sure I was okay. The counselor told me lots of kids blame themselves when their mom and dad split. She said I shouldn’t do that. Then I stayed with my dad and I told him what the counselor said. He told me, yeah, well ...

Mapping a career in nursing

Q. I want to be a nurse. My dad says I’m too young to know what I want. I think he’s wrong, what do I need to do to be a nurse? You’re a nurse, right? – 12-year-old Mary Jo’s Response: I’m proud to say I am a nurse, yes. I’ve done many things since I graduated as a nurse in ...