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vaginapagina2006-02-06 07:21 am
jennifer0246.livejournal.com) wrote in vaginapagina2006-02-06 07:21 am
Entry tags:
ze bio of Jen
Howdy, VP-ers! As many of you requested, the powers that be are posting little biographies for your perusal. We hope it'll let you get to know us a bit better, and we also invite you to introduce yourselves over here. My bio is only the third, and there're alot of us, so keep checking back, or click on the tag so you can read up on each of us.
Without further ado, I present ... me!
Ok, so that's me as a wee munchkin - about 23 years ago, if the age on the photo is correct. (To see more current pics, click here. I haven't changed all that much.) That'd make me 25 now - eep, I'm going to have to start calling myself an adult soon!
My name, as you may have guessed, is Jennifer. I tend to think I'm in trouble when someone calls me that though, so you're better off sticking to calling me Jen. I was born and raised on a farm in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts, and I haven't made it out yet (ok, that's not true. I moved away for a little while, but ended up coming back). My parents are still married, and still live in the same house I grew up in. I have two younger brothers, one who lives nearby with his girlfriend, and one who is still at home with mom & dad. Neither of my parents are working now - Dad used to be a groundskeeper at a local college, but is now disabled. Mom held jobs on and off, but was primarily a stay-at-home-mom. My childhood was neither rosy nor fraught with innocence, and it definitely wasn't a body-positive sort of environment. I became the woman I am rather in spite of my youth, not because of it.
In high school I was involved in the Peer Team, talking to peers about their problems and concerns, and handing out condoms / safer sex info, and Mediation Team, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative to teach students how to mediate disputes among their fellow students. I really enjoyed both groups, and the teacher I worked under - she was a fabulous inspiration. The other big part of my life in high school was wrestling. I was a manager for the team for all 4 years of high school, and remained involved in various capacities even after graduation. I made some great friends on the team, and the coach was amazing. I wish everyone had role models like my teacher and coach. While in high school and early college, I also worked at a nursing home, which helped foster my interest in social work. Working with the elderly also prepared me to take on the role of guardian and caregiver for my great-grandmother Julia.
I went to college in this same area, and graduated a little while back with a BA in sociology and a minor in social work. I really enjoyed being involved and active on campus, and I was an RA for my last two years there (hello to my former residents, I know there are a few of you who watch this community!). I also did a bunch of student activities stuff, including organizing some concerts (anybody ever hear of a little band called Eve6?), coordinating some campus-wide programs, and attending alternative spring break in DC my senior year. I miss college, sometimes.
After college, I worked in residence life for a little while, and then made the jump to working in the financial world, in human resources. That was relatively short-lived, and then I worked at a family planning / sexual health clinic as a counselor, and adored it. Women's health, particularly sexual health, is an enormous passion of mine, and I'm grateful to be able to do something I love so much. I also nannied for a fabulous family, which means I got paid to spend time with the cutest little boy ever. I've actually worked with kids quite a bit - most recently as a nanny for several families, but before that I ran playgroups for birth-three year olds at an Early Intervention agency. The small set is really great, and I love that I've been able to do such different but important things with different parts of my day. More recently, I've changed roles in the women's health field to working in a private OB/GYN office as a medical assistant. This means I get to help one (really great) doctor see patients, perform procedures, and do all sorts of interesting things. It's a really great opportunity to get to know the field further, and I enjoy it.
In my spare time (despite having a crazy demanding job, I do have some of that, occasionally), I like to spend time with my partner![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
omegaking7, my cats, good books, music/movies, and of course, my computer. I'll read most anything (favorite authors: Nicholas Sparks, Jennifer Weiner, James Patterson, Joyce Carol Oates, Nora Roberts, Torey Hayden, Dave Pelzer, Jodi Picoult, the author of those addicting Shopaholic books, and more - definitely not limited to just those), and I'm currently working my way through The Female of the Species, which is really great - I'd recommend it. 'Course, I also have a Sedaris book sitting on my bedside table, and I'm wanting to reread Growing Up Fast, which is actually written about my area. I'm a big fan of multitasking! As for music, again - very eclectic tastes. To give you an idea of just how eclectic I mean, the first 3 songs to come up on my winamp are the "Lady and the Tramp" theme, Heiruspecs - Heartsprings, and Girlyman - Fall Stories. I should also point out that the 20.3 gigs of music I have are stored on my computer, Bob, who I built for myself about 3 years ago now. I ♥ Bob, alot. As for movies, I count Life as a House, Kill Bill, and Finding Nemo among my favorites. I am rather woefully undermovied though - would you believe I saw Princess Bride for the first time just last year!?
As for the VP part of my life, I adore the community, everything it stands for, and being part of such a fabulous group of individuals. My interest and involvement in women's health didn't really start until I was in my late teens, but growing up on the farm, I could've told you about a uterine prolapse (in great detail) at 6 or 7. I was great fun in elementary school :) . I joined lj back in 2002, and found VP shortly thereafter, via links on my friends info pages. I quickly joined up, and was asked to be a mod in the summer of 2004. I'm not sure where my interest in women's health came from specifically - likely a combination of the societal decree that vaginas are dirty and we shouldn't talk about them (I love breaking rules!), a favorite aunt passing away at 41 from ovarian cancer that wasn't detected until it was too late, because she was ashamed of having vagina problems, and my own meandering experiences with birth control and HPV-dysplasia.
The only other thing that's a big part of my life that I haven't discussed here is my feminism. Choice and freedom and equality are all extraordinarily important to me, and I work to incorporate them into every part of my life. To that end, I've worked with the rest of the team to develop the language, victim-blaming, and empowerment guidelines. I also do a lot of work with at-risk and abused women as part of my job at the clinic.
So that's me! Feel free to comment about anything that stands out to you - I like to talk about interesting stuffs. And thanks to each of you for being superfab VPers, and keep rockin' the community!
Without further ado, I present ... me!
Ok, so that's me as a wee munchkin - about 23 years ago, if the age on the photo is correct. (To see more current pics, click here. I haven't changed all that much.) That'd make me 25 now - eep, I'm going to have to start calling myself an adult soon!
My name, as you may have guessed, is Jennifer. I tend to think I'm in trouble when someone calls me that though, so you're better off sticking to calling me Jen. I was born and raised on a farm in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts, and I haven't made it out yet (ok, that's not true. I moved away for a little while, but ended up coming back). My parents are still married, and still live in the same house I grew up in. I have two younger brothers, one who lives nearby with his girlfriend, and one who is still at home with mom & dad. Neither of my parents are working now - Dad used to be a groundskeeper at a local college, but is now disabled. Mom held jobs on and off, but was primarily a stay-at-home-mom. My childhood was neither rosy nor fraught with innocence, and it definitely wasn't a body-positive sort of environment. I became the woman I am rather in spite of my youth, not because of it.
In high school I was involved in the Peer Team, talking to peers about their problems and concerns, and handing out condoms / safer sex info, and Mediation Team, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative to teach students how to mediate disputes among their fellow students. I really enjoyed both groups, and the teacher I worked under - she was a fabulous inspiration. The other big part of my life in high school was wrestling. I was a manager for the team for all 4 years of high school, and remained involved in various capacities even after graduation. I made some great friends on the team, and the coach was amazing. I wish everyone had role models like my teacher and coach. While in high school and early college, I also worked at a nursing home, which helped foster my interest in social work. Working with the elderly also prepared me to take on the role of guardian and caregiver for my great-grandmother Julia.
I went to college in this same area, and graduated a little while back with a BA in sociology and a minor in social work. I really enjoyed being involved and active on campus, and I was an RA for my last two years there (hello to my former residents, I know there are a few of you who watch this community!). I also did a bunch of student activities stuff, including organizing some concerts (anybody ever hear of a little band called Eve6?), coordinating some campus-wide programs, and attending alternative spring break in DC my senior year. I miss college, sometimes.
After college, I worked in residence life for a little while, and then made the jump to working in the financial world, in human resources. That was relatively short-lived, and then I worked at a family planning / sexual health clinic as a counselor, and adored it. Women's health, particularly sexual health, is an enormous passion of mine, and I'm grateful to be able to do something I love so much. I also nannied for a fabulous family, which means I got paid to spend time with the cutest little boy ever. I've actually worked with kids quite a bit - most recently as a nanny for several families, but before that I ran playgroups for birth-three year olds at an Early Intervention agency. The small set is really great, and I love that I've been able to do such different but important things with different parts of my day. More recently, I've changed roles in the women's health field to working in a private OB/GYN office as a medical assistant. This means I get to help one (really great) doctor see patients, perform procedures, and do all sorts of interesting things. It's a really great opportunity to get to know the field further, and I enjoy it.
In my spare time (despite having a crazy demanding job, I do have some of that, occasionally), I like to spend time with my partner
omegaking7, my cats, good books, music/movies, and of course, my computer. I'll read most anything (favorite authors: Nicholas Sparks, Jennifer Weiner, James Patterson, Joyce Carol Oates, Nora Roberts, Torey Hayden, Dave Pelzer, Jodi Picoult, the author of those addicting Shopaholic books, and more - definitely not limited to just those), and I'm currently working my way through The Female of the Species, which is really great - I'd recommend it. 'Course, I also have a Sedaris book sitting on my bedside table, and I'm wanting to reread Growing Up Fast, which is actually written about my area. I'm a big fan of multitasking! As for music, again - very eclectic tastes. To give you an idea of just how eclectic I mean, the first 3 songs to come up on my winamp are the "Lady and the Tramp" theme, Heiruspecs - Heartsprings, and Girlyman - Fall Stories. I should also point out that the 20.3 gigs of music I have are stored on my computer, Bob, who I built for myself about 3 years ago now. I ♥ Bob, alot. As for movies, I count Life as a House, Kill Bill, and Finding Nemo among my favorites. I am rather woefully undermovied though - would you believe I saw Princess Bride for the first time just last year!? As for the VP part of my life, I adore the community, everything it stands for, and being part of such a fabulous group of individuals. My interest and involvement in women's health didn't really start until I was in my late teens, but growing up on the farm, I could've told you about a uterine prolapse (in great detail) at 6 or 7. I was great fun in elementary school :) . I joined lj back in 2002, and found VP shortly thereafter, via links on my friends info pages. I quickly joined up, and was asked to be a mod in the summer of 2004. I'm not sure where my interest in women's health came from specifically - likely a combination of the societal decree that vaginas are dirty and we shouldn't talk about them (I love breaking rules!), a favorite aunt passing away at 41 from ovarian cancer that wasn't detected until it was too late, because she was ashamed of having vagina problems, and my own meandering experiences with birth control and HPV-dysplasia.
The only other thing that's a big part of my life that I haven't discussed here is my feminism. Choice and freedom and equality are all extraordinarily important to me, and I work to incorporate them into every part of my life. To that end, I've worked with the rest of the team to develop the language, victim-blaming, and empowerment guidelines. I also do a lot of work with at-risk and abused women as part of my job at the clinic.
So that's me! Feel free to comment about anything that stands out to you - I like to talk about interesting stuffs. And thanks to each of you for being superfab VPers, and keep rockin' the community!
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its hilarious, I think every child born in the early 80's has a picture with that background!!
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and haha, yeah - at least i escaped that terrible portrait thing where an image of your own head floats over your shoulder *shudder*
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my older sister was NOT! and we still make fun of her.
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P.S. Eve6 and building your own computer...awesome. :D
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P.S. I love building comps. too, but mine's name is sue.
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Oh and that must be quite interesting being a former RA and running into ex-residents on LJ.
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Of course, now I have to do it all the time for work and I hate it XD
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and yeah - my residents were/are cool people though, so it's alright.
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+10 CATNESS!!!
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and yay kitties!
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Nice!!!
Re: Nice!!!
And some lady at the library today said "oh your son is cute!" after he bopped me on the head for not giving him another granola bite thing fast enough. I didn't have the heart to tell her the caregiver-beating little monster isn't mine.
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I'm loving these mod bios. I now know about the person behind the name. :o)