We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jayna Jennings a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jayna , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My faith is what gives me purpose and I found it through my relationship with God. I know He has given me a message of hope to share and I am firm believer that I have gone through what I have and experienced what I have so that I could help and encourage others. My passion with my work and just with my life has been to raise awareness for mental health so that care can become more accessible- the stigma around it can be broken and those in need can get care without guilt or shame. Mental health is health! I feel that my purpose in life is to use my voice to remind others how incredibly needed and purposeful they are- how they are fearfully and wonderfully made and that they make a difference in this world by being alive and being themselves.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been performing and writing music for over eleven years and my journey has been such an incredibly fun one! My songwriting is heavily focused around real world issues and personal character development (haha) and my sound is deeply rooted in and influenced by nature and spirituality. I’ve been releasing music since my teens, so my catalog is very much a coming of age collection, a documentation of the lessons I’ve learned. I have been working on my latest album (it is coming out very soon!!), and I am more proud of this body of work than anything I have done before because it is a project that truly could have only come from me.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I have learned that practice, patience, and apathy are very important if you want to work in music. Practice your craft, always be rehearsed- take pride in your work and others will see your passion. You can be the best in the world, but if you do not have the work ethic and ingenuity to keep going after you’ve been rejected, you will never get anywhere. Be patient in your journey and the right people who believe in you will eventually show up- do not lose sight of your path because a naysayer made you doubt. I know I sound like I’m crazy when I say apathy is a good quality to have, but music is a tough business and for whatever reason, usually the answer will be no before it is yes, people will want to be negative before they are positive, and comments on the internet are enough to make you want to quit and go into hiding- but being apathetic to the pessimism will give you a leg up- when others are doubting their talents because of someone’s cynicism, you will still be digging, you will still be walking towards the YES.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I love to collaborate with other artists, and work with other songwriters! It is invaluable to be in the room with other musicians and artists because you find that they might have ideas you otherwise would not have had and they have a sound you can learn from. I am always open to cowriting, so if you are looking for a writer, please reach out via any of my social media pages!
Contact Info:
- Website: jaynajennings.net
- Instagram: instagram.com/jayna__jennings
- Facebook: facebook.com/jaynajennings13
- Twitter: twitter.com/jayna__jennings
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayna__jennings
Image Credits:
Scotty Marcus at Freedom Academy of Music Education DEW Photography Bradley Smith Photography
