Samantha Cohen For this issue of The Forum I had the wonderful opportunity to get to know a loverly freshman named Jessica Mora. It all happened so suddenly, as it normally does. She was getting her bag together to go home when I snuck up to her locker and asked her if she wanted to go out for coffee sometime. I was pleasantly surprised when she agreed and even more pleasantly surprised when she ordered hot chocolate over coffee. As we talked at a quaint local beverage house across the street I found out we have a lot more in common than our affinity for hot  chocolate. Jessica has a wide variety of interests. She loves the culinary arts, computer programing, theatre, and travel. Jessica’s favorite restaurants are Olive Garden where her favorite dish is the succulent seafood alfredo and Uncommon Ground, a green restaurant that prides itself on serving fresh and local ingredients where she orders a scrumptious tortilla dish.  We both agreed that Olive Garden’s everflowing salad is irresistably good and the breadsticks are top notch. As far as Uncommon Ground goes we agreed that fresh and natural food is really healthy and important but sometimes it is better not to know exactly what goes into your food. “I want to eat an Oreo without having to think about what is in it or how it is processed.” she confessed. Ditto, Jessica. If Jessica had to prepare a meal for the president, she would make enchiladas. Though that dish is particularly either a “hit or a miss.” she believes that her recipe (involving chicken, carrots, and potatoes) could win over his taste buds. I mentioned the horchata, a sweet mexican beverage, in the cafeteria and we both agreed that it tasted like heaven. When I asked Jessica what she would do to improve student life she answered without hesitation “shorter lunch lines!” Tis true, it can be quite the struggle to have to smell the yummy entree in your hands in the lunch line without being able to devour it immediately, especially given the time constraints of a lunch period. With November soon approaching, I thought it appropriate to ask Jessica her favorite part of the thanksgiving meal. While I expected an answer like mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, or my personal favorite pumpkin pie, my heart was warmed when she answered “being with family”. I decided that though I really do love pumpkin pie family truly is the best aspect of the holiday meal. Jessica’s passion for the arts can be seen through her commitment to theatre. She recently played a baby crab in the adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and spent her summer acting in two shows: a Japanese adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, and Brother Grimm’s stories. Theatre is yet another passion that Jessica and I have in common — that and a love for Mr. Schneider. “He has a really happy, encouraging personality,” she explained. She hopes to participate in his acting elective in the future. Jessica’s favorite actress is Jennifer Lawrence, star of the Hunger Games. She is also inspired by Sean Berdy who plays Emmett Bledsoe on her favorite show Switched at Birth. Berdy is a deaf actor and Jessica is inspired by his ability to pursue and attain his dream career despite his disability. While Jessica enjoys watching musicals, she will not be participating in the upcoming school musical (The Drowsy Chaperone). Instead she has decided to join the basketball team this winter. Her other forays into the arts include her interest in Global Cities: Visual Arts class with Ms. Holloway and a brief dabble in guitar. Jessica is fluent in Spanish and is currently taking French. She has a real passion for learning about different cultures and desires to travel a lot throughout her life. If she could live anywhere outside of the U.S., it would be Milan or Paris. Her dream Independent Study would be to study the history and culture of another country such as Germany or Poland and then travel there. She firmly believes that it is not enough to know the native language to wherever one travels it is equally important to know the history and culture. Jessica has already traveled to Mexico and cannot wait to explore more of what the world has to offer. Jessica herself is Mexican-American. Woah! This is another thing we have in common! Some interesting facts about Jessica are:  that she prefers zippers over velcro, she is not a fan of sloppiness, her favorite season is the winter, her favorite mythical creature is the pegasus, and she has never been to a haunted house but hopes to this Halloween season! When I asked Jessica what she wants the high school to know about her, she simply responded, “I just want them to know me.” We agreed that our school is small enough for everyone to be able to say hi to everyone in the hallways. So the next time you see Jessica Mora meandering through the freshman hallway or are behind her in the often perpetual lunch line introduce yourself. You may find out you have more in common with her than you ever knew!]]>