I Tried My Best | Jared Demeester | TEDxGVSU

This is a conversation about the importance of creating, its effects on our whole being, & how we can rest in the fact that it can merely be about trying our best. It is a conversation about how trying things, regardless of our inherent skill, can simultaneously be both humbling & empowering. It is a conversation about how drawing things poorly has truly made a footprint on the map of my existence.

Jared grew up in Grand Rapids, MI. While studying chemistry & jazz performance at Hope College (less of an accolade and maybe more of a badge of indecisiveness), he and his best pal, Bobo, founded a long board wheel company called “Sweet Spot Wheels.” Working alongside of Grand Rapids startup-initiative, Start Garden, Jared quickly grew a deep-seeded love for design & branding. Post-graduation, Jared attended Western Michigan University to pursue a masters in jazz performance. Having finished half of the program, Jared left in an effort to create a bit more headspace for prior & new entrepreneurial endeavors. After a return to Holland, Jared joined forces in founding the Michigan Academy of Folk Music, Stovetop Coffee Roasters, & launched a website of hand drawings under the moniker, I Tried My Best. He is now working each day in Holland, from a large wooden table, in a large & enchanted old home, learning things, drawing often, & being humbled by the newness of each venture.