Jan Laurel Goodson Cortez:  

Life We lived on the boundry for Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach School Districts. From K-3 and 5-6 I attended Moiola Elementary and for 4,7-8 I attended Talbert Middle School. I had transfers to cross boundries and it was difficult to decide which school to go to because I liked both. I went to Huntington Beach High School for 9th and part of 10th grade. I moved to a small town south of Yosemite Park region. I finished 10th and 11th grade. I signed up for a program to study in a foreign country. So for the 12th grade I went to Brazil. I stayed with a family that spoke no English, so I basically arrived and had to learn to speak their language,Portuguese. While I was there I attended school and did a lot of traveling. I visited many local beaches, got really sunburned, the sun is much stronger than what I was used to. I spent Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, which was amazing. I also got to frequent Sao Paulo, which is the largest city in South America, also one of the top 10 in the world. It's like 2x the size of New York City. When I returned I had to redo my 12th grade year ( I didn't earn any credits). I went to a school in Northern California called Elk Grove High School. I went back to Orange County after graduation, and spent a few years with friends and family. I held several jobs, not knowing where I fit in the world, I decided to leave to go back to Northern California to free myself from the pressure of life in "La La Land." I spent 8 years working as a Senior Asst manager. Most of the knowledge gained was through on the job training, however I attended dozens of classes ...Expand for more