Jazz Jennings From ‘I Am Jazz’ Reveals Why She Delayed Going to Harvard
Jazz Jennings from TLC’s I Am Jazz geared up to attend Harvard University as a freshman in 2019 – but then pulled back and delayed heading off to Boston.
She shared on Instagram that rather than run headfirst into the enormous challenge of an Ivy League school, she’d prefer to reflect on her journey and refocus so when she did attend the college, she’d be a stronger version of herself. Jennings initially planned to head off to Harvard in early 2020. But those plans were derailed when coronavirus (Covid-19) hit. Does she ultimately go?
Why did Jazz Jennings delay going to Harvard?
Jennings was seen in tears in a previous season of I Am Jazz when she visited Harvard before deciding to delay admission. “I feel like a lot of Harvard students, their mindset is success, success, success,” she said to another Harvard student in an episode. “And there was definitely a sort of intensity that I was feeling from the campus.”
She added, “I just feel like I don’t have the drive for Harvard, that’s required of Harvard students,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do at all.” Jennings was also accepted at Pomona, a school in California. But she felt intense pressure to attend Harvard because of its closer proximity to her home state of Florida and the school’s prestige.
“I might go to Harvard still,” she said to her parents when they started to argue about schools. “You don’t know what I’m gonna do. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
Jazz Jennings hoped to start school in 2020
Jennings took some time, did some soul searching, and then shared on Instagram in Feb. 2020 that she was ready to head to Harvard. “After a tough decision, I decided Harvard would be the best home for me. I am so proud to be a part of the Crimson Family and excited to be starting on campus soon! I can’t wait to spread my wings and fly at Harvard.”
Covid gripped the country shortly after Jennings shared the statement that she planned to start school. Like many students, she opted to wait out the pandemic from home. She continued to advocate for transgender rights and shared on Instagram that she faced a binge eating disorder and gained a considerable amount of weight.
Does she go to Harvard in 2021?
Jennings addresses delaying Harvard and where she is today with heading back to school. “I was on my way to one of the greatest institutions in the world, but I was actually struggling severely with mental health issues,” she shared in the trailer for the upcoming season of I Am Jazz.
She started binge eating and gained a significant amount of weight. Jennings is seen meeting with a nutritionist as she tries to lose weight. Plus she admits she’s fat-shamed by her family. Mother Jeanette worries that while her daughter still plans to head off to Harvard, she may not be ready. Jennings is seen asleep late into the day and her mother expresses concern.
“This isn’t gonna cut it at Harvard. I’m not gonna be here to get you up.” Jeanette tells her daughter who is still sleeping. Jeanette adds in a confessional, “At least [husband] Greg and I are around to prevent her from oversleeping. What’s gonna happen when we’re not around?”
The Jennings family doesn’t seem confident that Jazz Jennings is ready to head off to Harvard. “It’s now or never at this point!” she says about going to Harvard. So did she leave for the fall semester? Find out when I Am Jazz Season 7 returns on Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TLC.
