About Me

Profile

About:

My name is Mark Jones, I’m a 4th year, Neurobiology major getting a Business Foundations Degree as well. I grew up on a forty-acre farm in Stockton, CA. No matter what is said about Stockton, I will admit that I would not be the person I am today without growing up there.
I would like to think that it was meant to be; me growing up on a forty-acre farm and now going to school on the Forty-Acres. This was never planned, however. I had never considered moving out-of-state until I put my future into perspective. My entire life, I was brought up in the small, private, Catholic school system. The two other schools I was considering were small, private, Catholic universities in California. I decided it was time for a change, and to Texas I moved.
My family is the greatest support system I will ever have. Both my mother and father have always showed me the greatest love I’ve ever seen. They want me to “be who I am, and be that well” (-St. Francis de Sales). I have a brother who is nine years older than I am. It was weird growing up with a brother who was in high school when I was just entering Kindergarten but as I grew and continue to grow older, the bond between us has done nothing but grow stronger. I have also been fortunate to have four grandparents who are always there for me. I will always remember those Christmas Lil’ Smoky sausages at Nona and Grandpa’s and the apple (peeled and sliced) I got everyday after being picked up from school by my Tita and Judo. I cannot describe how much my family means to me, and I guess that is alright because some things just cannot be explained. My love of food, however, is easily explained.
I love food and I love to cook. My creative side just takes over and I feel like I’m a five-star chef. As a kid, I would attempt to make concoctions made out of Jell-o, peanut butter, and tuna. For the record, I would always take a bite…then throw it away and get ready to try the next idea I had. From those early Jell-o, pb, and tuna sandwiches, I’ve been able to make homemade pasta with pesto sauce and even made-from-scratch red velvet cupcakes. I apologize for ending it like this, but I have to leave y’all hungry for more (kinda punny, huh?)

Why I Ride

When I was a sophomore in high school, my then 20-year old cousin, Kasey, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer (what I’ve been told was the female version of the type of cancer that Lance Armstrong had). She was someone who was very intelligent and fun to be around. I had always wondered why this happened to her? She underwent countless treatments, had to temporarily drop out of college, and focus on her battle. In the end, she was victorious. She has been healthy and active again for around 3 years now, graduated from USC, and is now pursuing her love of fashion design and becoming very popular in the Southern California market.
Some might say that it was an obvious choice to dedicate my ride to my cousin. There are others who have been affected by cancer who I care deeply about and, as a member of Texas 4000, would love to dedicate my ride for. However, my decision to dedicate the ride to Kasey was not an easy one.
I try to live my life without regret. But one thing I do regret is not being more active in Kasey’s battle with cancer. I always kept her in my thoughts and prayers but I distanced myself from the negatives. I couldn’t tell you what specific type of cancer she had. I couldn’t tell you how many rounds of chemo she went through. And worst of all, I didn’t even want to acknowledge the fact that she almost had almost lost; she was so close to losing her battle…and I didn’t even realize it. Kasey’s battle with cancer is something that I will never forget and I will never fully understand what she had to go through to win that fight, but I now am able to play an active role and make up for lost time. Even though the cancer is gone, the battle is never really over.
I ride for Kasey because she is a true inspiration, in every sense of the word. She never gave up, even when others had counted her out. Cancer is not invincible; it is being weakened every single day and Kasey’s story is a testament to that fact. I ride to spread her story to families who are dealing with the same struggles that she had to deal with. I can’t believe it took me this long to get involved with her fight, and I now know, without a doubt, that Kasey is a role model and inspiration to me. And thus, I ride for her.