We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jada Haynes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jada below.
Jada, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
I came up with Jada Unpublished when I was suffering from post-grad depression, heartbreak, financial hardship, and flunking out of my law school program. From the years 2017 – 2018 I was suffering in silence and trying to figure out how to navigate life without any help. I held all of my feelings in, and it was ultimately not helping me heal. One day I was talking to my sister, and she told me to start blogging. At that time, she was thinking about the typical fashion, hair, nails – things that I was into and something that would get me out of my rut. However, when I sat down at my computer to start blogging, I was not feeling that completely. Even when trying to create content, like doing my hair, I felt the need to talk and let out my pain. So, then it began – I decided that I could unpack everything that I had experienced in those two years, and to begin documenting my journey to good mental health and reaching my goals; because even though I had failed at law school I was going to find a way to make it happen and reach my goal of becoming a lawyer. I named the blog Jada Unpublished because it represents all of my unpublished feelings, knowledge, and growth that I am now deciding to let loose and share. Not knowing if I would ever receive one read on my blog or one view on my YouTube channel, I really wanted to use my blog as a therapeutic outlet for me. However, it turns out there are so many people who were in my same situation; suffering with the same battles, trying not to show weakness, and trying to be perfect. It has been very rewarding to let the world see my life come in full circle. Now that I am back in law school, I continue to be transparent in my content and share the mental battles and imposter syndrome I currently face. I feel like as my blog continues to grow I know I could succeed because I feel good. After every post even before anyone has read it, I feel like it was worthwhile and my story deserves to be told.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am originally from Athens, Georgia. I am a proud alumna of Johnson C. Smith University where I received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2017. I then received a Master of Public Administration in 2020 from North Carolina Central University. Since I was a kid, I truly enjoyed life, my parents kept me involved in the community and I typically excelled in everything I did. I always strived to be “perfect.” It wasn’t until I graduated undergrad that I learned that there is no such thing as perfect. I enrolled in law school even though I was dealing with heartbreak, had a low lsat score, and really did not have a plan. I found out quickly that those qualities were not the foundation of starting a good law school career. I did not do well and was academically dismissed after my first year. From there I thought my world had ended and instead of dealing with my emotions I enrolled in a master’s program and tried to make sure no one saw me fail (I kept my feelings and life unpublished). It was during this time that I found the blogging industry. Nothing I was doing at the time was helping me out of my depression, so I started Jada Unpublished to let go and accept my life, to heal and to be a voice to millennials and younger who suffer from the same mental struggles that I had going on. Currently I provide advice on getting through anxiety and depression, learning how to have fun again, and working towards my career goals. I do this through my personal blog stories and YouTube video journal. I am most proud of my followers. It makes me smile when I get a DM or a comment from someone who says, “thank you for sharing what all of us were scared to admit,” or someone cheering me on as I endeavor on my new law school journey. My blog serves an outlet for people to see it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to have to rethink and replan, it’s okay to take a break. I use my story to inspire and change the narrative behind the strong black women, the perfect student, etc. Jada Unpublished main purpose is to show others that they too can overcome their past and overcome obstacles with grace and a hint of drama! Along with my blog my career goal is to become a litigator helping disadvantaged communities and pushing back on racial discrimination. As a triple HBCU student I want to use my career to diversify and support the legal profession by using unique experience and skill set to provide others with the perspective of students that are traditionally underrepresented in legal and corporate spaces. Readers can subscribe to my blog at jadaunpublished.com and like, comment, and subscribe to my YouTube Channel – Jada Unpublished.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The two books that continue to drive me are Becoming by Michelle Obama and the Bible. In Michelle Obama’s book she discussed how she did not pass the bar exam the first time, and even though that is a small portion of her story it means so much to me. To know that someone who truly excels and embodies perfection failed at something was everything I needed to push me to never give up on my goals. I also read bible scriptures, it is my driving force to stay positive even when things are going wrong and when I get discouraged that I won’t succeed. I love to read the different plans in the Bible app. I can always find one that speaks to what I have going on in life at the time. A scripture I currently live by is Psalms 46:5 – God is within her, she will not fall, God will help her at the break of day.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about marketing and mastering the algorithms of social media and monetizing my blog and Google SEO.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jadaunpublished.com
- Instagram: jadaunpublished
- Facebook: Jada Unpublished
- Youtube: Jada Unpublished