I am a Lover, I am Interested, I am Hopeful.

By Michael Dean

Lover of my studio apartment in Lakeview East (I moved 3 months ago). Lover of the record player stand I bought at Brown Elephant in Andersonville for $20. Lover of my greenish-blue couch (I think they call it teal) with coral throw pillows. Lover of my brass-colored floor lamp. Lover of not making it a day without listening to music. Lover of playlists. Lover of making playlists for each season of each year, beginning in 2015 till now. Lover of music being put out by Remy Wolf and Kate Bollinger and weird vaporwave/funk music, and some much more. Lover of playing music. Lover of teaching myself bass guitar in 2018 with the Hal Leonard Bass Method book and not looking back since. Lover of playing trumpet since 2010, all the way through college. Lover of learning the basslines to my favorite songs by ear when the inspiration hits. Lover of writing. Lover of writing poetry. Lover of writing creative nonfiction. Lover of writing the occasional fiction piece. Lover of seeing the world through words.

Interested in how the sun rises over Lake Michigan. Interested in watching it soon. Interested in road tripping somewhere cool someday (maybe the Pacific Northwest). Interested in finding cool coffee shops in the city. Interested in baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Interested in the process of creation. Interested in Story Jam. Very Interested in Story Jam. Interested in how people tell their stories and help their experiences approach meaning. Interested in becoming a great writer. Interested in telling interesting stories. Interested in finding ways to make people laugh with my words. Interested in what it takes to pull off live storytelling events. Interested in what it takes to pull off live storytelling events that also integrate live music. Interested in writing good blog posts. Interested in the confidence that live storytellers have. Interested in learning to have that confidence.

Hopeful for this internship, and all that I will learn. Hopeful that I will meet some really cool people, passionate about storytelling, music, and creating. Hopeful that I will be able to contribute great things to Story Jam. Hopeful about loving my first winter in Chicago. Hopeful about finally owning some houseplants that I don’t kill. Hopeful.