Episode 16: Jordana Gross

April 3, 2019

I grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. I lived there until I was 18 and then my family moved to Jamaica, Queens. I didn’t really like it at first, but I realized that turning 18 is really a time for change and you’re going to move and meet new people. I still love New Jersey, a lot of my best friends are still there and I always love it when I go back, but New York has really grown on me. I’m happy here.

How do I always stay so upbeat? I just really don’t see the point of being downbeat, even if stuff sucks, you’ve got to make the best of it. Also, I really like to stir the pot and the more you stir the pot with people, the funner life gets. I really like to push people’s buttons. That’s my favorite thing about myself. It’s that I’m a weirdo, and I can always just be myself. I’ve really grown into myself and become more comfortable with it as the years went on, and hope that I just keep getting weirder and weirder. One of my friends recently started calling me “The little terrorist” he thinks it’s offensive, but I really like it. I like to pull pranks on people. A little while back, I took one of those red and yellow toy cars they make for toddlers and rode it through the Starbuck’s drive-thru.

Even if you don’t know it, there’s always a plan out there for you. I believe that any hardship you come up against is part of the plan for your life, and you can make it through it. I’ve actually wanted to be a doctor since second grade. When they asked me back then, I said I wanted to be a kid doctor, not like Doogie Howser but a pediatrician. My mom tells me that she still has the letter I wrote back then where I said that was what I wanted. I feel really drawn to pediatrics because I am a child, so I think it would be really hard to relate to adults.

Kids are a lot more resilient than adults are and that’s something that I admire. My favorite childhood memory is going to the central park zoo when I was 5 years old, it was just me and my parents and we had the best day. They had a petting zoo and me and my dad got our faces painted. I got a butterfly on my face. That day really stuck because it’s one of the prominent memories I have with my parents of having a great day. My parents got divorced when I was 9 and my father also passed when I was 13. The divorce was tough at first, being the oldest sibling you really have to grow up faster. To me, everyone has their own hardships and has to deal with different things, so I don’t really see it as an obstacle, just something that’s helped me grow.

My mom is my biggest role model. She put everything on hold for us and raised me and my brothers the best she could. She always did what was best for us. That’s why she took everything on and she became both parents for me and my brothers.

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists?
The Jonas Brothers, The Chainsmokers, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Halsey

​Fun fact: I message Halsey on Instagram every Monday to find out when she’s coming to New York because she’s my boyfriend’s favorite artist, and I really want to find out when I can get tickets to her show. I’ve done it for 16 weeks straight now. When we had finals, I opened with an apology, because I forgot to send her a message, and I thought she might be worried since it was late.

If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Teleportation. I’d just use it so I wouldn’t have to drive to school. Also, I’d get to go anywhere I wanted to travel without having to pay for airfare. I wouldn’t go to space though, I don’t need that kind of stress.

Pick someone or something from NYMC to give a shout-out too!
Dassi, because she hates public attention.
Amanda Molleni
Aitan and Sivan, even though you got me to do this interview, I’m still not going to read any of the Humans of NYMC.
Fiona Hudgens, you know why.