Jude Jackson

I’m Jude! A sixteen year old boy with massive dreams. My family is full of non graduates. None of my siblings made it through highschool, and my mom and dad were both drop outs. It feels like I’m expected to make a mistake and not make it too. But I believe in myself! My birthday is Nov. 16, so I’m turning 17 in a couple months. It’s pretty exciting because as I age, more opportunities open up to me, which makes the vast future in front of me a lot brighter. 

My mom and dad are in their late 50s and 60s, so it's hard for me to feel understood. Being a boy who wasn’t born correctly is hard, and it’s even harder when they don’t understand and aren’t very willing to try. The newer generations are more likely to understand but being myself is a struggle. That’s why I’m so glad to be at crossroads. They try harder than any other school I’ve been at! 

I have lots of siblings, but I’m the baby. Sisters all 25 and older, with one brother who is 30. I feel like the odd one out but they still care for me. It’s just hard when they're old enough to be my parents. I have two dogs! Oscar Myer Weiner, my dachshund, and Poncho, my chihuahua. They’re the sweetest dogs. I have one cat as well, even though I’m rather allergic. Her name is Say-Say Summer. She’s a tortoise shell kitty.

Hobby wise I really enjoy art! I draw a lot. My dad thinks I inherited it from him. He’s a painter. I think I made it my own. My art is... silly. It is happy drawings of boys in the sky or me at my first day of school. It is cartoon-y and not a thing like realism. It is mine. I also write, as you can tell. It’s something that I can get lost in, but I don’t have the skill to carry all my ideas yet. I hope to make something wonderful someday. 

At the moment I’m trying my best. It’s not always enough. Yet my best is what I’ll give, no matter what. We all have different situations going on. Different things we have to deal with. I have so much that I’d never tell someone what’s going on. Even though, Crossroads makes me want to try my best, even if my best isn’t always enough for anyone else. I hope to one day have a ‘best’ that’s very strong. That trying my best is better than today. That I can fight harder for others and I can bring more joy than I do now. Only time will tell, but I’m excited to grow into myself! Just watch me, maybe one day I’ll be larger than life.