JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div class="list">
  <div class="search"></div>
  <div class="item">Item 1</div>
  <div class="item selected">Item 2</div>
  <div class="item">Item 3</div>
</div>
<div id="result"></div>

JavaScript

let selectedItem = $('.list').find('.item.selected');
let firstElement = $('.list').find('.item:first');

$('#result').html(`is first = ${$(selectedItem).is(firstElement)}`);