Journal 1: 100 things that make me happy

1. My dad
2. The Bible
3. Redbull
4. Driving
5. Disney Movies
6. Sunny Days
7. Ice cream
8. Sour straws
9. Going to the movies
10. Sunsets
11. The ocean
12. Disneyland
13. My bunny
14. My niece Skylar Elise
15. The Zoo
16. Pacific Beach
17. My phone
18. My hoopdy
19. Writing
20. Singing
21. My best friend Bama
22. My bed
23. Non-profit YOUME clothing
24. Working with special needs children
25. Matchbook Romance
26. San Diego State
27. Danville, CA
28. Country concerts
29. Ray Bentley
30. My dog Julius Cesar
31. Crazy Love by Francis Chan
32. Familiar Things
33. Corona
34. Bike rides around mission bay
35. Bonfires
36. Days off
37. Yankee Candles
38. A Rocket to the Moon
39. Cherry Coke
40. Einstein's Bagels
41. Laughing at things that aren't funny
42. Driving for no reason
43. The rollercoaster at Bellmont Park
44. Seeing my friends after a long day
45. Being stupid and romantic and cliche
46. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
47. Seaworld
48. Sycamore Park
49. High Tech Burrito
50. Christmas lights
51. The Jelly Belly Factory
52. When you're in a rush and there's no traffic
53. When Beejay Ondera sings at church
54. The 56
55. Lyrics
56. Yellow roses
57. Homemade cards
58. Flats
59. Super Nintendo
60. Christmas Morning
61. Movie nights
62. Holding hands
63. Taking naps
64. Listening to your favorite song when you're having a bad day
65. Doing things that you don't understand for people you love
66. Scrapbooks
67. People magazine
68. The Kardashians
69. Taking spontaneous day trips
70. BBQs
71. Foster's Freeze
72. Home-cooked meals
73. Baseball games
74. Mt. Diablo
75. Air conditioning
76. The fun facts on Snapple caps
77. Planning surprises
78. Being in love
79. Being on road trips with fun people
80. Having family dinners
81. People that love America
82. Cholula
83. Morning texts from people you love
84. When my dad calls me just to tell me he misses me
85. Caring about things that matter
86. When people call me Kara Jones
87. Make-up
88. The 90s
89. Cheesy romantic songs that remind you of people
90. Getting letters
91. Writing letters
92. Stagecoach Festival
93. Accomplishing things
94. Toby Keith
95. Romantic Comedy's
96. The end of missing someone
97. Listening to the same song 10 times a day
98. Andrew McMahon
99. Game nights
100. Taylor McNeilly

Introduction

Hi my name is Kara Jones. People call me Kara Jones. Yep, I'm on a first and last name basis with nearly everyone. I'm from Danville, CA which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. I know what you are thinking and yes, I do say hella. Annoying right? Anyways, I attended Sycamore Valley Elementary, Charlotte Wood Middle School, San Ramon Valley High School, and a slew of colleges. I have now officially attended four different colleges. I started at Diablo Valley College in Northern California but when I decided to move to San Diego I had to first attend Mesa College. Then I received my Bachelor's of Science from San Diego State University which were some of the best years of my life. I somehow managed to stay on track and graduated in four years. Now I obviously attend CSU San Marcos. I am working toward my teaching credential but am currently enrolled in the prerequisites for the program. My goal is to be a Special Education Teacher in either Elementary or Middle School.

My experience with technology is primarily with social networking sites like Facebook. I was an avid instant messenger when I was younger and as a result I can type extremely fast. I am a Mac person. I own a Macbook Pro which I actually didn't purchase until after my graduation but was one of the best purchases of my life. I love all their programs especially imovie which I used to create a movie/slideshow of my niece (pictured above) for her 2nd birthday. Great present by the way, fan favorite, if you are a broke college kid like the rest of us. 

The mission statement of CSUSM and the College of Education was not a factor in me applying to the University because to be quite honest, I didn't know what the mission statement was until I read the syllabus for all my classes. However, I think that the mission statement definitely speaks to me. Transforming the public education system is one of the top reasons for wanting to go into the teaching profession. It has made a huge impact on my decision and social justice, equity, and a commitment to diversity are key ingredients to creating a successful educator. I can only hope that when I receive my credential and become a teacher, that I can demonstrate these goals everyday in the classroom.