As Told To Taryn Finley

Jada Adams is a first-year student at the University of Georgia studying entertainment and media studies. Originally from North Brunswick, New Jersey, Jada and her family moved to Columbia, South Carolina, in 2014 to get closer to her maternal family. She found some challenges finishing her senior year of high school during the pandemic, but shes learned a really crucial lesson on the meaning of happiness that she isnt willing to compromise on.

Im a creator. I create positive energy, music, good ideas and out-the-box thinking. I found my calling combining all of those things.

I learned how to rhyme in either first grade or kindergarten. Those rhymes turned into music when my mom, who used to rap herself, taught me how to spit. I wrote my first rap back then. My brother started making me beats on his computer. Hed invite his friends over, and Id perform for them. More than 10 years later and Im still performing. I hang up my reserved and awkward demeanor when I hit the stage as Jada Beatz to perform.

I write about mostly whats going on, more inspirational music. Ive already released an EP and written a theme song for an organization called Every Black Girl . My goal is to really inspire my peers to reach their full potential.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, however, optimism couldnt be the only thing that sustained me. The pandemic hit junior year going into my senior year of high school. It separated me and my classmates from friends, teachers and community at a time when we needed it the most. Right before the school shut down, one of my friends who went to my high school died. It wasnt COVID-related, but that didnt make it any less devastating. I couldnt wrap my head around it.

It just didnt make sense. We were just all at school having a normal day on Thursday. That Friday, school was canceled, and Saturday we got the news. We gathered at the school that day to pay tribute to our classmate and lean on one another, but we never went back to school after that. We had to grieve in our homes and over Zoom. It was different.