In case you missed what's been happening on Instagram, here's a recap from the week..... I'm with her. Spent my day avoiding reality by obsessively reorganizing my MAC eyeshadows.  How did you cope today? Tonight we ate our feelings.  Thank you (Paulosophia) for the epic hummus bar. With my favorite nasty women. Okay ladies, now let's get in formation.  The sign game today was strong. A video posted by Kristen Howerton . . .

What I Want You to Know is a series of reader submissions. It is an attempt to allow people to tell their personal stories, in the hopes of bringing greater compassion to the unique issues each of us face. If you would like to submit a story to this series, click here. Today’s guest post is by an anonymous reader. Photo by: Gemma Evans  I was fifteen when I stopped saying "no". I was fifteen when I "got what I deserved". To sum up this night I still remember too . . .

What I Want You to Know is a series of reader submissions. It is an attempt to allow people to tell their personal stories, in the hopes of bringing greater compassion to the unique issues each of us face. If you would like to submit a story to this series, click here. Today’s guest post is by Becky. Photo by: Mayur Gala  Prior to meeting my mom in 1990 in an all black church in the heart of Silicon Valley, my stepfather was a member of the KKK.. This is not about . . .

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Here are some things I read this week that made me think.  (These are just snippets - click on the title to read the whole thing.) One Answer to School Attendance: Washing Machines by Mimi with Citylab “After just one month, we saw an impact,” Gunn tells CityLab. The more long-term results of the program have actually been remarkable. The first year saw over 90 percent of tracked students increase their attendance, with those most in need of the service averaging an increase of almost 2 . . .

Circling back to the special moments shared on the Instagram page this week.... Ready for the MLK Parade! Thanks @shreducate_academy and @redemptionoc for such a fun block party today! A video posted by Kristen Howerton (@kristenhowerton) on Jan 14, 2017 at 4:23pm PST When there is a blackout and at first it's a bummer but you get cozy around the fire and the kids start a spontaneous drum circle and you start considering having a forced blackout on . . .

This morning I was shopping for shirts for my tween son on H&M's website. As I scrolled through various options of gray t-shirts, I was struck by the forlorn expressions on all of the model's faces. You guys. I'm really worried about their male models. Why do they look so sad? Is it the knowledge of that these shirts will shrink after the wash? Are they thinking about the election results? Was the photographer playing The Smiths during the photo shoot? Are they unable to connect to . . .

This post is sponsored by Clorox. One of my New Year's resolutions is to simplify. I tend to go overboard, especially when it comes to buying products. From face washes to conditioners to clothes to cleaning products, I can be a bit of a hoarder. I like trying the latest and greatest, and then I end up with cabinets full of things I don't even use. In the coming year, I'm going to try to really pare down. I've seen a lot of people try to do a capsule wardrobe in an effort to simplify and . . .