After being abducted and held as a captive for nearly a decade inside the home of suspected kidnapper Ariel Castro, 23-year-old Gina DeJesus is focusing on getting her life back in order, starting with the small things.

"Gina wants to go back to school, get her driver's license and get a haircut," Matt Zone, a Cleveland city councilman who has spent time with the DeJesus family in the days since Gina came home on May 6, told People. "She wants to learn to put on makeup, all those girly things. It's the simple things - those are the things that are the most precious to her."

DeJesus visited a hair salon for the first time in a decade this week and celebrated Mother's Day with her family, the first holiday she has seen outside of captivity since she was a teenager. She was abducted in 2004 at the age of 14.

Gina's parents, Nancy Ruiz and Felix DeJesus, are doing what they can to help her heal from the kidnapping experience she faced with fellow victims Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight. Ruiz said all her daughter asked of her so far was to make her homemade meatloaf.

Zone has kept in touch and visited the family since Gina's disappearance in 2004. He said the family has now told him, "We're going to keep it as positive as we can." Zone visited the DeJesus home after Gina's first night back with her family. He noticed how the atmosphere in the house changed with Gina's presence.

"There had always been a sense of sadness because their daughter wasn't there," he said. "But this time, there was a sense of calmness. Their little girl was home."

"They are an incredibly strong family," Zone added. "It's a real testament to their love and their faith. They never really accepted the fact their daughter was gone."

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