Jacky Brian: "The Individualistic Artist"

A photo of Jacky. Photo courtesy of
Faith Staley.

Oh my goodness, it’s Jacky Brian. A dear friend of mine who I’ve shared many experiences with. Like the time we went to the beach! Okay it was a flooded baseball field, but it was still a blast! Anyway, Jacky is a fantastic person to be around and will fill you with laughter.

In Jacky’s free time she partakes in the following: writing in her ever so large journal, drawing awe-inspiring sketches, painting magnificent pictures, and of course listening to her endless music collection. She loves to express herself through many variations. And of course (like every other teenager these days) she watches Orange is the New Black regularly. She simply states that it’s basically her life.

Relating back to listening to music, Jacky’s biggest inspiration is the lead singer for one of our favorite bands: Green Day. She says that she loves how Billy Joe Armstrong is abnormally big on individuality and not conforming to society's ideals. She believes that is most likely the coolest thing ever and a fantastic lesson for life.

Jacky’s favorite memory (and also mine) is when we celebrated our friend Faith’s birthday. It was a day full of surprises that will last in my mind forever. I believe that we started at Jacky’s house and made piping hot cocoa and put the toasty liquid in a thermos. Then we walked the short distance to City Park and found a well-deserving spot next to Poison Creek and drank our hot chocolate with huge grins. Then Faith and I (being the hippies that we are) saw cans of beer in the creek. We both were determined to “save” the cans and recycle them. The first can was easy to reach in and frantically grab. But the second one was a different story. So in this particular spot there was a tree in the center of creek with very little land surrounding it. And right below that tree was where the disastrous can was located. So we came up with this innovative plan to hang on to the tree and reach for the can. I went first, but since I had no success Faith went next. Now remember that this was her birthday. She hung precariously from the tree and extended as far as she could. And then terror struck. She basically plummeted into the bone-chilling water. There is an ever so embarrassing video on Jacky’s Instagram if you want to check that out. Happy Birthday Faith!

Jacky is terrified of the future and has no clue about what she wants to be when she’s older. But she does know where she wants to live, Michigan. I don’t know much about Michigan but I hear that they have breathtaking cross country skiing. Lastly a word that Jacky would use to describe herself is individualistic. And let me tell you she is quite the individual. I have never seen Jacky cave into the status quo here at TMJH. She is truly unique and you won’t regret becoming friends with her.

An "artsy" photo of Jacky in a library hallway. Photo Courtesy of Faith Staley.