Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Reading Day

So I think I have a cold. Which is a bummer cause it is finals week and I'm going to the Bahamas in a 10 days. So pray that this cold goes away. On a positive note, I bought my cap and gown today!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

MicroBikeUSA

Want to check out something cool - MicroBikeUSA! Three of my swimmer friends, Tyler Heishman, Freddy Piumelli, and Bryan Stinchfield are riding their bikes from the East Coast all the way to San Francesco this summer to raise awareness for microfinancing. "We are looking to experience the country from a unique perspective. Along the way, we will advocate a sustainable technique to fighting poverty: microfinance. By issuing small loans, microfinance allows the poor to work their way out of poverty." They are going to be blogging throughout their trip. I added them to my list of blogs that I'm following. Definitely check them out and support them if you can!

Last Day of College

Today is my last day of classes here at Bentley College. I can't believe this day is finally here. It feels surreal.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Tonight

Tonight was an interesting night. After water polo I was feeling very productive and was planning on finishing up my 6 page reflection for service learning for the semester, which isn't due until Friday, however, I have class with my professor tomorrow and thought it would be good to get it over with now so I can focus more time on my other finals later on in the week. Instead, I ended up having an intense, hour-long conversation with one of my ex's. It was good. I got some things off of my chest. While completely confusing Nick, I'm hoping he will take to heart what I had to say and maybe we can talk about it some more once he has done some processing. Hopefully in the near future. I teared up a bit but nothing to crazy. I'm lucky to have friends around me for hugs and encouraging words. I hung out with my roommates for a bit afterwards, doing homework and listening to worship music. A good ending to a tough conversation. And now it is 2:18 AM and I'm going to still try and bust out as much of this paper as I can before I have to get up at 7:40AM to lifeguard.

On a side note, I did manage to pack my all my kitchen stuff up. Yeah for being productive this afternoon!

Traci's Calendar

I'm copying Traci's Calendar idea. Thought this would make things easier.

April 29: Breakfast by Moonlight
April 30: Reading Day, Student Employee Awards, Staff Dinner. Buy graduation gown and post graduation party info on facebook and myspace.
May 1: Phone conversation with Nike and Floor Meeting
May 2: Service Learning Paper due, Lewis & Clark Final, and Lit Final all due
May 3-5: Pack
May 6: MK 343 Final
May 7: MK 402 Final due - that is already completed, Senior Laptop Checkout
May 8: Resident Check Out
May 9: Senior Ball
May 10: Move into the Trees
May 11 - 15: BAHAMAS!
May 16: Baccalaureate, Majors/Minors meetings, Service Learning and Ethics meetings
May 17: GRADUATION! And graduation party with family.
May 18-28: Cross Country Road Trip with Dad
May 29: Traci's Bday
May 31: OR Graduation Party - details coming soon!

Productive Last Night


Last night I was very productive. Which is good and helps with the whole freaking out about college thing. I spoke at church yesterday as per my previous posts. But I also finished my MK 402 final group project as well as my individual project. Some of which I posted here on my blog. I also watched Crash (which is an amazing movie if you have never seen it, I would encourage you to) for my Monsters and Madmen in Lit and Film class. Our final "text" for the course. Hopefully today in class we will get our final questions so sometime this week I can write two essays and finish up another course. I also spent sometime yesterday wrapping up my college life. Writing thank you notes for all the super presents I got after speaking at church as well as thank you presents for my extended family that I am planning on giving out after my graduation. Today I have 3 final classes. My last meeting with my RD. Water polo practice and maybe a nap. Should be a good day.

If anyone has seen Crash, please share your thoughts! Thanks!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Jenna Forstrom Video Resume 2008

Does this seem like me? Thoughts? Comments?

Speaking @ Church Today

So I didn't play the Godtube video. But encourage all of you to check it out. And we only sung "To the Ends of the Earth." But all in all it went very well. I still think I need to work on my public speaking skills, I tend to talk too quickly and job around a lot. But I believe my testimony is very chaotic - goes along well with my life but also very open and personal. Also like me. Some things I got out of it listening to other speak was very interesting stuff about love.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8


Then Manny (another speaker) went on to talk about love for everyone:

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." - Luke 6:27-36

I think these are very important words that we should all focus more one. Rather then spending so much time and energy on being mad at others.

Speaking today and hearing the other students speak made me realize how lucky I am to have such an awesome support group here on campus. From my roommates, to my friends, to my Bible study, to the staff here on campus both in and out of the Spiritual Life Center. God was truly looking out for me when He sent me to Bentley College.


Speaking @ Church Today!

Today I am speaking at my church here at Bentley College. All the seniors get the opportunity to speak today at a service called "Cloud of Witnesses". It is a pretty big honor and a lot of my friends (even my non-Christian) are coming to listen to me speak. I wrote up a basic outline about what I am going to talk about. Thought I would post it here so everyone could see. I'll let you guys know how it really went later on today. Let me know if you have any questions/thoughts. Thanks!

I picked my top three worships songs (I was really tempted to do Papaya song since that was the first song I ever heard at church. However, it isn't that mature.) I did choose Indescribable, Ends of the Earth, and The Stand.


I'm also tempted to show the Godtube video about the play with the girl. Still debating that one.

Anyways, here is my speech. Enjoy and COMMENT!

Introduction – Jenna Forstrom, Beaverton, Oregon

Major/Plans After College – Marketing with a minor in Management and International Studies. No real plans for after college, but I hope to working in either corporate social responsibility and ethics or at a non-profit doing marketing.

How did you become a Christian – In 8th grade after attending a membership class at my church. Did not really take it to heart until sophomore year of high school, grew from there. Story about my ear. Exodus 21:6 “Then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to a door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”

How the Lord helped me through Bentley – How didn’t he help me? I was in a really serious relationship and that ended, He was there. My parents announced their separation He was there. I owe Him a lot.

Words of Wisdom – Get involved on campus. You own it for 4 years and then it is gone. Do not worry about jobs/internships, Bentley is the only place I know that cares so much. Remember, if things feel weird or uncomfortable, that it’s okay we are not from this world. Hebrews 11:13 “All these people were living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth. It’s okay to take it slow. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” And it’s okay to be mad at God. Don’t hold that anger in. Let it out – you heal faster when you are honest.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Spread the Bread

I got an unusual email from a lady who has been reading my blog and is involved in an organization called Spread the Bread. She sent me an email about getting involved. However, I am super busy right now and can't. But I thought I would post a link to their website so other people can get involved. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Stressed!

Here is what I have to do between now and May 8th:
  1. Finish all my finals and group projects
  2. Work 20+ hours/week
  3. Pack up my entire life and make sure it fits in my Volvo station wagon
  4. Pack for the Bahamas and graduation
  5. Wrap up all my extra curricular stuff
  6. Keep my sanity
So I'm a bit stressed out. So most of my blogs will probably be complaining or sharing pointless information that will make me feel better. Hope you enjoy it. Comment too please - makes me feel like the world is okay. Here is what I did today:
  1. Wrote my BCLP reflection paper - posted most of it on my blog. That is good. The final certificates and such I get are presented on May 16. My parents should be there with me....hopefully (just other thing to stress out about).
  2. Wrote my final service learning reflection journal - I still have to write my final 6 page paper for that - hopefully I will do that this weekend.
  3. Went shopping and got my thank you presents for my family - I still need to wrap them and write notes - hopefully doing that this weekend too.
  4. Almost finished my MK 402 final - emailed it to my professor she is going to send me comments tomorrow. I still need to add a Youtube resume and a generic cover letter. Hopefully I will finish that before 1PM tomorrow (before work) so I can turn it in on Monday and be done with MK 402 so I can focus on my other three finals.
Ah, that feels better.

Bentley Civic Leadership Program

Want to know what I have been doing with the last four years of my life. On top of going to school. Here you go. Here is the basic paper for my reflection for the Bentley Civic Leadership Program. Let me know what you think.


1. Campus Involvement: Being involved here at Bentley Campus is something that has always been important to me. I was on the Varsity Swim Team for three years, my sophomore year, a group of friends and I decided that Bentley would benefit from a water polo club and went through the formal recognition process, I became the Co-Founder and Vice President of the Bentley Water Polo Club, which now scrimmages against other local colleges and sponsors Float-A-Boat on Spring Day. My junior year I became the marketing and public relations e-board chair for Bentley Christian Fellowship, an organization I have been involved with since my freshman year that offers weekly Bible studies, fellowship and the Annual Easter Banquet. Also during my junior year, I applied and became a resident assistant working in Kresge, providing peer support and programs for the past two years. I have also been a work study student since my freshman year working as a lifeguard down at the Dana Center Pool and as an Event Staff Supervisor, working at the 1917 Tavern and various events put on by Greek Life, CAB, and ISA.

Civic Engagement: Service-Learning was introduced to me during my freshman year in my IT101 class with Professor VanderClock, when I was working with students at a local elementary school with the America Clicks program. Since then I have done a service-learning project almost every semester of my collegiate career. From doing an alternative spring break with Habitat for Humanity with Lynne Johanson and other Bentley students, to working with a local Y.M.C.A. on how to better run their programs in an embedded management course, to working with local elementary school students again with ELL Learners. Finally, my senior year, I have had the opportunity to work at the Watertown Boys and Girls Club for the entire year in their Homework Help Room. Also has a resident assistant I have had the chance to work with various organizations on campus to plan and encourage my residents to attend many cultural events happening on campus.

Ethical and Socially Responsible Behavior: I believe that acting ethically and being socially responsible are very important characteristics to have in a human being. While we all make mistakes, learning from those mistakes and growing is the more important thing. As a resident assistant it is very important to act ethically and show social responsibility, since you live in a fishbowl where your residents, other students on campus, fellow resident assistants, head residents assistants and resident directors are watching your every move. After I leave Bentley I hope to set a good example of what it means to be ethical and a socially responsible role model to the community in which I live and work.

2. Other than surviving college on the East Coast, 3,000 miles away from my family and graduating. I would have to say my biggest accomplishment here on a campus would have to be becoming a resident assistant. After a long application process and tough interviews, I made it! I became a resident assistant because my sophomore year I had no idea who my own resident assistant was and that worried me. I wanted to create an environment like a home on my floor where everyone knew one another and felt welcomed to be there. I believe I have achieved that over my two years of being a resident assistant. Being involved in many organizations on campus has thought me how to manage my time well and how to get more involved in my community. When I graduate and start work in the real world I plan on becoming very involved where I work. I do not want to be one of those employees who shows up to work, does their job, then leaves. I want to be engaged, have the chance to meet other people in different departments and make a difference. I also plan on doing more community service activities when I graduate. I did them before I came to college, as a care group leader at my church working with 8th grade girls and doing various service projects. Therefore, I plan on doing more after school. Hopefully, I will be making more money than I am now and will have more time to spare and therefore make a bigger impact.

3. For me, as a civic leader, I think my biggest challenge will be to get too involved in too many projects. I have a big heart and I want to save the world. In earlier years, I struggled with over commitment something I believe I have gotten better at over my four years of here at Bentley. But I know I’m not perfect. This also goes along with knowing which battles are worth the fight and which ones are not. Sometimes you need to pick and choose, something I am not very good at. Another challenge I can foresee is having the courage to speak up. I know now as a senior I am at the top of the food chain so it is easy to have a voice here on campus. However, once I graduate, I will probably have some entry level job where I will be back at the bottom and while I am a very outgoing person, in new environments I tend to take my time to figure out how things work before getting involved.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Website

I have to create a website about my personal brand. My goal is to get it done by Monday so I can be done with this class before the final. Ideally, I could get it done tonight that would be great. I'm not holding my breath though.

This is what I have so far:

I'm graduating from Bentley College in May, so I feel like I do not have that many profession experiences. However, I do feel like I have some experience (check out my resume and previous work for examples). This is what I am looking for in a future job:

1. A marketing job (back up management job).
2. A job outside of New England (West Coast or International preferably)
3. Something in Non-Profit (or Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability)

In a dream world I would like to work for a foundation that focuses one the needs of pre-teen girls in developing countries. I would like to have a home (with a lot of land, near a river and the ocean) in the United States but have the chance to be abroad for long periods of time, about 3 to 6 months at a time.

"I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains & rives know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries." - Brian Andreas

Thoughts?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Life Update

Haven't been in the mood to blog for awhile. It's getting down to the wire with graduation just around the corner. This weekend was super nice 70ish degree weather and a long weekend. MA residents have this crazy Monday holiday called Patriot's Day. No school and Marathon Monday! So I had a nice 5 day weekend and only two days of school this week. Hopefully I can get some work done since finals start next week. Anyways here is a brief update on my life.

Saturday I went to the Boston Beer Summit - learned a lot, got to try a lot of beer, and won some cool prizes, stickers, pint glasses, shirts, etc. I'm such a college student - free stuff and I am there.

Sunday was Bentley's Senior Club night, we went to Club Felt in downtown Boston and I had a great time. Danced for like 4 hours. And I wore a new dress (shocking) and got a lot of compliments. The down side was I decided it would be a good idea to lift Sunday morning, in which I did lunges and squats add that to the high heels and dancing that night - my legs are now killing me! Oh well. I'll live.

Here are some updates about graduation:
  1. I'm speaking at my church on Sunday for Senior Recognition's "Cloud of Witnesses." I wrote out my speech on Thursday night and will post it up after my talk - my roommates read my blog and I don't want to spoil it.
  2. I am getting a Service Learning Award thing (120+ hours of community service) for graduation. I still have to update my hours, write my final journal entry, and final paper for this.
  3. I am also getting a Bentley Civil Leadership Award thing at graduation too. Thus I need to write a 3-5 page paper about my experience here for the past four years.
  4. I still have to finish up my 5 classes so I can actually graduate. Crazy!
  5. Plus, I have to pack up and move and prepare for my cross country road trip with my dad.
  6. And I have to get ready for the Bahamas - I leave in like a week and a half.
That is basically my crazy life. I could go on longer - but I don't want to bore you or sound like I'm complaining. I love working under pressure.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Free Book


Yesterday in my Marketing and Social Media class we had a guest speaker, Mike Proulx, VP of Social Media at Digital Influence Group, who talked to us about what real marketing companies are doing with social media. This gives me hope that I can find a job I will love. Another important thing is that he gave our entire class copies of his boss' book "Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business" by Larry Weber. Can't wait to start reading it. However, this will probably not happen until my road trip. But if you have read it or want to borrow it from me later. Let me know.

Religion Paper Update

I am writing a paper on religion for my managing diversity class. I had to interview one person from my religion, my roommate Jackie, and one person from a different religion, my friend Shekib who is Muslim.

One of the paper's questions is: What did you learn about yourself, related to diversity (from both your self-interview and your conversations)? This is what I came up with:
"While doing this assignment I became very aware of all the messages I have acquired over the years from my church, my friends, and my community. I was really surprised at the number of messages I had acquired compared to those that Jackie and Shekib had heard. While interviewing them, I shared what I had learned during my self interview and they seemed to be surprised as well. I began to wonder why I had received more messages than my interviewees and my conclusion is that this was because I had spent so much of my middle and high school years in the church. Not only did I go to church on Sundays, but I went to the student church service, Bible study, camps, mission trips, and was a leader in my church. Through these experiences I was exposed to so much more aspects of religion, aside from the Bible, I was taught what my church believes a good Christian woman is above reproach. Not until doing this assignment did I come to this heightened sense of awareness."

Thoughts?

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

It Never Gets Old

Amusing thought for the day. So the Bentley pool, where I have been lifeguarding at for four years now, ladies locker room just got a make over. One of the new installations is a machines that almost completely dries your wet swim suit. Most "nicer" gyms have this little contraption. You put a wet swim suit in. Hold down the lid, there is a bit of rumbling and then 10 seconds later - Wa-la! Dry suit! The wrung out water falls out of the machine into a little bucket at the bottom. I usually sit there and watch the water fall out in complete awe. But this morning I was walking into work and this old lady (around grandmother age) was watching the fall into the bucket and she dried her suit! I love it. No matter how old you get the simplest things still amuse us!

What amuses you?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Last Lecture

Today was RA Appreciation Day. So I woke up to a balloon tied to my door. My RD, Erin, made a delicious dinner for our staff. At the end of our RA meeting, Erin showed us a video called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor who is dying of pancreatic cancer. It was a really moving lecture and I thought you guys would enjoy it. Please take a couple of minutes, watch the video, and let me know what you think.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Twitter

I was thinking I should post my twitter account info here so that people could fine me easier. I plan on using Twitter a lot for my cross country road trip with my dad since I doubt I will have internet access most of the time. Let me know what you think. Or if you have Twitter so I can follow you!

My Twitter Page!

19 Classes Left

My friend pointed out today that I only have 19 class left in my collegiate career. Grad school anyone?

Breakfast:
  • 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with hummus and cucumbers
  • 1/2 grapefruit
  • bowl of Life cereal (I should have skipped this)
  • 1 glass of water
  • 1 glass of apple juice

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty busy:
  • Thursday I worked all night
  • Friday I was on duty and had a friend who graduated last year sleep over
  • Saturday I went to Sam Adams and did their brewery tour with some friends!
  • Sunday I chopped off all my hair again - back to the old school high school pixie cut which I love. I don't think my rather conservative business school friends will like it. But I LOVE IT!
I decided last night I need to start keeping a food journal to keep track of the foods I'm eating. In hopes of becoming more healthy. I'll try to keep you guys posted on how that goes. Today I eat:
  • 1 small, Currito Soy Smoothie, with mangoes instead of strawberries
  • Couscous w/veggie mix of carrots, bell peppers, garbanzo beans, and pine nuts
  • Turkey wheat wrap with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles
I'm trying to drink more water and keep better track of what I do for excersize. Today I:
  • did an ab workout
  • swam for an hour

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Unmotivated

Feeling a bit unmotivated today.
  1. It could be because I did not get that much sleep last night due to a sleep over party with my friend Jade. Whenever her boy friend is gone she sleeps over. She called me "her full time friend and part time lover". I just enjoy the company.
  2. It could be because my knee is hurting - not really sure why that is. But it is definitely swollen though.
  3. It could be because it is super warm and sunny out right now. (I'm currently sitting on a picnic table attempting to do work).
  4. It could be because I'm two weeks away from being done with school and have senioritis... most likely.
I do have some work to do. However, it is simple everyday homework, so I'm not ready to do it just yet.

I have 9 minutes to kill before I need to get back to work. I'm working a lot today - surprised? 10AM - 2PM - lifeguarding, 3:30-4:30PM - lifeguarding, [dinner meeting @ 5PM], 7PM-1AM event staff. But it's good cause I'm poor and need to pay the bills.

I'm going to try and do what Kristin and Traci do, write a long list of things I'm thinking about:
  • I need lotion for my legs
  • I need a nap
  • I need a haircut
  • I love the sun
    • I love flip flops
      • I need to buy more flip flops
  • I love my friends who still call/email with me even though I'm 3,000 miles away
  • I hope I can do a roadtrip with BK this summer to her new home
  • I hope Jade figures out her life
  • I'm excited to go to Beer Summit next weekend
  • I should be doing work
  • I wonder what will happen after this summer
    • I should care more about what happens
  • Every time I watch trees sway it reminds me of Phenomenon - it really is relaxing
  • I should work out more
    • But my knee hurts
  • I'm sad my softball team lost last night
    • I wish Traci could come visit
      • But I'm excited that we might have future baseball plan
Not very exciting stuff. I'll try harder next time. Back to work!

Monday, April 07, 2008

God Knows


God knows when you need a little personal pick-me-up. He knows that I really needed one today after a rough weekend and little sleep last night. It came in the form of a long time best friend and older brother, Jon Grotz (the one on the right), whom I haven't spoken to in a couple of months. He made my day today and put me in a mood way better than I ever expected to be in today.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

What God is Teaching Me This Week

I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on my life, due to some unusual circumstances that have arose. Long story. But here is what God has revealed to me this week:
  1. I really need to work on loving myself more. I had a long Google chat conversation with my friend Traci and while I will be the first one to admit I have huge issues with love. She really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to work on loving myself better. I've already forgiven myself for stuff in the past, now I need to work on acting like I love myself. I need to work on treating myself better:
  • Not overworking myself at the gym
  • Eating healthier
  • XXXXXXXX XXX XXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX X XXX XX XX XXXX
  1. The second thing I've learned this week is that I really need to work on remembering to call upon and rely on God's power and strength when I'm going through harder times in my life. I did pretty good this week - but there is definitely room for improvement.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Diversity Identity Paper Assignment: Religion

I'm taking a managing diversity class and we have to write a paper on diversity identity on a topic of our choice (race, sexual orientation, nationality or religion). I'm choosing religion, since it is something that is a huge part of my life. I have to interview myself, which is weird, a friend who shares the same religion as I do, (future shout out to Jackie, my roommate, for letting me interview her) and my friend and fellow RA Shekib, who is Muslim.

I'm currently working on the personal interview and some of the questions are interesting to answer, because, for the most part, my time here at Bentley I have felt like the only practicing "real/good" Christian among my friends. So I wonder how my professors are going to take to reading my paper. The way it is structured it seems as though they assume you were born into your religion. Which I wasn't, so that is slightly odd for me to write from that perspective (although I can see how you are born into other things like race).

There was another question that was interesting to me: How would you describe the current climate in the setting you share in relation to you religion? What does that mean? I wrote, "good, a little worried for what God has in store for me after graduation." However, I do not feel as though that is a collegiate paper response.

Just my thoughts for now...

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

6 Weeks And Counting...

Just thought I would make a quick little post. My life is so crazy right now with school work, work work, friends (and drama) that is hard to find time to actually post thoughtful and insightful stuff. I am having a hard enough time finding time to stop and process my life as it. Not to mention writing about it. Although, on the graduation front this week I received:
  1. My first alumni newsletter - that was shocking, I'm not yet out the door and they are already sending me stuff about my Year 0 reunion in October....
  2. My paperwork for my cap and gown
Interesting life stuff has come up the past week. If anyone is really interested call me. I don't think I'm ready to actually post it up here yet.