JASON CORA

The day was young, at its prime. The sun had already risen, but the air was still cool and crisp. Six boys piled into a van, filling all but one seat. The fatigue of the short night was quickly subdued by the excitement of the day ahead. The sun slowly crossed the sky as the van traveled down the highway.

The music filled the car and pushed outwards, shaking the windows and seats and doors. The conversation simply climbed over the beats, never faltering for a moment. The boys over for some cheap breakfast, and quickly got back on the road.

Jason Cora scrolled through a playlist, settling on one song that he knew that everyone would enjoy: MOTW by Gunna. Though they switched off drivers, he was almost always on aux.

“The boys,” as Cora refers to his group of friends, were on a day trip to Monterey. “Traffic was ugly, but we made it after a long time,” Cora said. They made the most of that day, walking the pier--where they shared an Oreo churro and dined at a burger joint---and visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This kind of excursion is a regular occurrence with Cora and his friends. While they do go on a few overnight trips, most of the time they leave early in the morning and are back late at night.

Cora has known some of the friends who went to Monterey with him since kindergarten. They spend the vast majority of their free time together. “Sometimes it can be boring,” said Cora. “Sometimes it can be the best time of your life.” Much of their conversation centers around what to do next, whether it be what to eat, where to go, or what to do over the weekend.

When they’re not off to somewhere new, Cora and his friends have started to go to the gym on a regular basis. “I think that’s a good way to bond with your bros,” he said. “You just get in the gym, you know, start doing things that are good for you.”

Fortunately, Cora and many of his friends will be going to Sierra College together for the first two years after highschool. However, a few of his close friends will be headed in different directions. Cora wants those friends to remember him as “that one kid that always wanted to go do something.” Cora rarely wanted to stay inside, and always sought to make the most of his time. “I’m always trying to make good memories with good people,” he said.

While he expects his academic life to change drastically upon graduation, Cora envisions his social life---his trips with friends--to continue and to develop as he meets new people. “I think it’s gonna be much better than high school for sure,” he said.

Every other night, Cora watches the sunset from up on Thunder Hill with his friends. As the sun sets on his time at Rocklin High School, he is already looking forward to the next new day.