From pencil strokes to guitar strings to film analysis, junior Jada Dejesus has spent years immersing herself in creative hobbies. Growing up in a family filled with creative individuals, she found herself naturally drawn to the arts, and has made them a large part of her identity.

“I’ve drawn for 10 years now, so I’ve had a lot of experience and growth,” Dejesus said. “It runs in my family because they all draw. They were all artistic and creative at some point, so it got passed down to me.”

Dejesus discovered a love for music through her grandfather, who gifted her a guitar and a pick that she still uses today. This marked the beginning of her learning to play.

“My grandfather is a very stern dude so learning guitar with him was difficult since he would get angry easily,” Dejesus said. “I have taught myself a lot though and I have learned to enjoy it quite a bit, I’m glad that my grandfather gave me this, if it wasn’t for him I would have never started playing.”

Part of her inspiration to pursue music has been her aunt, who helped her grow her connection to it as a passion.

“Music is also a big part of me because my aunt has been in a band; she has told me how much she enjoyed performing,” Dejesus said. “She’s been a singer and I feel really connected to music because so much of my family has been involved in it.”

In hopes of learning more instruments in the future, Dejesus plans to use her current knowledge to expand her musical abilities.

“It is such an interesting skill to be able to learn instruments,” Dejesus said. “I find it entertaining to learn how to play my favorite songs. It takes a lot of work but it is something you can brag to your friends about doing. I want to learn more instruments and be able to play more songs, however, with school and all my after-school activities, it would be hard to fit it into my schedule.”

In addition to drawing and music, Dejesus has taken a strong interest in the art of film—having grown up hosting movie nights with her family and going to the theater often.

“I’ve developed a movie list of movies that I’ve watched or plan on watching,” Dejesus said. “I also like to make reviews on them for my friends. I remember my dad would collect a ton of DVDs for us to watch, we still have the big pile in my house, every now and then I find them and get reminded of good memories.”

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Jada Dejesus

Since Jada was little, her and her dad have been going to movie theaters every week together.

“The first movie I ever watched with my daughter was ‘Inside Out’ and this was back in 2013,” Jada’s dad Felix DeJesus. “I remember us going to the theater and Jada being so excited about it, from that point we always watched movies together and made it a part of our schedule.”

Additionally, her father noticed early on that Jada had a talent for critiquing films, every time they finished a movie together, he would make Jada rate the movie out of 10.

“Jada has always loved to talk; every time we went into a movie theater she was always judging the characters,” Mr. DeJesus said. “She was always more immersed and paid attention to the details better than me, always noticing little things that I would never have noticed if she didn’t tell me.”

For her father, Jada’s musical ability is a reminder of his unfulfilled ambitions.

“I was around Jada’s age when I dreamed of being a rockstar and playing with a band in front of an audience,” Mr. DeJesus said. “I always wanted to play the bass but never had the time [to] practice, so every time Jada plays it reminds me of that and I love it.”

Concerts became another way her father supported Jada’s artistic passions.

“I started to take Jada to many concerts at a young age, and I think that’s why she became so in love with music,” Mr. DeJesus said. “I’m glad I was able to play a part in Jada’s love for artistic stuff, me and my family have always been interested in it so it’s nice to see that it got passed down.”

Although DeJesus has been drawing for many years, she still believes that she can better her art.

“I would still like to get better at making more realistic pieces,” Dejesus said. “In reality you can always improve when it comes to art. I always want to be better and do bigger paintings to impress those I am close to, because of that, my next drawing is for sure to be amazing.”