![]() Given all his success, has he ever contacted any of the people who doubted, or harassed him, in high school? His Mraz Family Farms in Oceanside boasts several thousand avocado and coffee trees, along with an array of tropical fruit trees. His 9-year-old Jason Mraz Foundation has given more than $1 million to organizations that support equality and inclusive arts education programs. Mraz has sold millions of records and headlined concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena. “Hopefully,” he said of his teen tormentors, “they had great lives.” “I was like: ‘Let me show you what you are actually envious of - I’m going to become successful in this field.’ And I did.” And I want to be successful to, basically, show these sorry, envious boys what it means to be in show choir, drama and cheerleading.’ But there’s a more inclusive world out there and I want to be a part of it. And I’m sorry this situation is giving the town a bad rep. “After that, I decided: ‘I don’t want live in a town like this. (The incident) was embarrassing, but also redeeming and it felt great (the assailant was held accountable). He ended up getting arrested and (had to do) some community service. My mom called the cops and, well, that dude should have known better. “But I got home and my ears were bleeding. “I thought I would try to keep the incident under wraps,” he said. He was cursing at me to ‘Get the f- out.’ But I couldn’t go anywhere, because my car keys were in the girl’s house. He kicked the door in - because he saw my car in the driveway - yanked me out of my chair and ripped out my earrings. I was watching MTV with her when her boyfriend showed up from college. That’s why I was at her house my family didn’t have cable. We were never in a relationship or intimate, but she had cable TV. ![]() “The most abusive situation,” Mraz recalled, “was when I was visiting a girl’s home. Unfortunately, that was not the worst of it for Mraz, who moved here in 1999 after being discovered in Las Vegas by top San Diego concert promoter Bill Silva, who served as his manager for the next 18 years. And the only way they could feel better was to put me in my place and slam me up against school lockers.” I think that created a sense of envy, or something, for their boyfriends. Because I was in show choir, cheerleading and drama club, I was friends with all these girls. “The guys who picked on me were all boyfriends of the girls I was hanging out with. ![]() because I thought: ‘You know what? There’s more to life than this small town’,” he replied, speaking from the rural Oceanside farm he shares with his wife, Christina Carano. “It definitely made me want to leave my hometown. Why, exactly, did Mraz get beat up? And did being bullied make him more determined to succeed? Gregory Page and Jason Mraz wrote the song “Green Lights and Blues Skies”. ![]()
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