About Me: Fessing Up Out Loud

Welcome to my journal out loud. My name is Jerry Fess.

I didn't build this space to sell you a five-step plan for happiness, a curated lifestyle brand, or polished motivational content. There are enough filters on the internet already. I started this blog to do something much more terrifying: to just be completely honest.

For a long time, my life has felt less like a neatly structured album and more like an unfinished symphony. It is an exploration of the massive, quiet gap between the life I originally planned, the life I actually got, and the raw music that plays in between.

Why I'm Here

This blog is an open look at what it means to navigate long-term depression, heavy personal health struggles, and the exhausting daily grind of modern adulthood. I write about the things people usually keep hidden: the heavy weight of anhedonia, the slow process of emotional growth, and the hard lessons that come from living through the dark periods instead of just pretending they don't exist.

If you explore my past essays, you'll find real journal entries tracking the unexpected detours of my recovery, from navigating physical side effects in pieces like “When Wegovy Took More Than My Appetite” to breaking down internal battles in “Running in Place."

The Philosophy

I believe that true healing doesn't come from erasing our scars or wrapping our struggles in a neat little bow. It comes from stepping up to the microphone, clearing your throat, and telling the truth. My writing is intentionally a little rough around the edges because real life is rough around the edges.

I live in Illinois, sharing my days with my dog, Pepper, who keeps me grounded when the noise inside my head gets a bit too loud. When I'm not writing, you can usually find me diving deep into pop-culture art prints, dealing with computer peripherals, or escaping into the world of Azeroth.

This page is entirely free to read, and it always will be. I'm just a guy figuring out my path forward, one raw page at a time, hoping that by fessing up out loud, I might give someone else the permission to do the exact same thing.

Thanks for listening to the music in between.