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 she’s learned a really crucial lesson on the meaning of happiness that she isn’t willing to compromise on.I’m 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. He’d invite his friends over, and I’d perform for them. More than 10 years later and I’m still performing. I hang up my reserved and awkward demeanor when I hit the stage as Jada Beatz to perform.I write about mostly what’s going on, more inspirational music. I’ve 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 couldn’t 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 wasn’t COVID-related, but that didn’t make it any less devastating. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.It just didn’t 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.I found a space in my house to process my friend’s death, the pandemic and everything else. I asked myself, “What am I thinking? What am I feeling?” It’s hard to put into words exactly if you’re angry, if you’re grateful, if you’re whatever.One of the most important lessons that came out of the pandemic for me was to prioritize my happiness. So I make sure that in every single minute of my life, I’m doing something that makes me happy. Sometimes that looks like me prioritizing time with my family over an assignment. Other times, that looks like me pouring into my music, which has allowed me to foster and build community. In summer 2021, I gathered seven up-and-coming female artists to record. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was cultivating a space for sisterhood among other Black girls. Some of these girls had never been in the studio, but when I heard them rap live or sing live, I knew I wanted to make some bomb music with them. At the beginning, some girls were like, “Oh, I can’t write.” I just think by the end, they were writing their own verses and we became best of friends and we ended up putting out a collaborative album.I dream about what I want my life to look like. I’d like to be in the studio with my favorite artists one day, including Beyoncé. I dream of spending more quality time with my family in a big house in the future. And I dream of taking my talents to heights unimaginable. As for 2022, however, I’m dreaming of making new friends on campus and finishing my next album.