My Extra Energy In Life

Violin

You must balance the left side of the brain and the right side of the brain. It’s simply one of the things that I strongly believe in.

What started as something to keep 8 year old Grace interested in something after quitting gymnastics, I never thought my violin would come with me to be played in guild halls in London and in retired cooling towers in Australia. My violin has always been a large passion of mine.

I took violin lessons at the Wausau Conservatory of Music, where I got experience in the Wausau Area Youth Symphony. I also had the unique challenge with my violin teacher of trying new pieces. While my teacher traditionally taught classical music, I would come up with unique pieces to play in my talent competition for the Miss America program.

Throughout it all though, my violin was my emotional escape. Honestly, this was one of the ways that I conveyed my emotions in a healthy manner when I was trying to figure out how to manage emotions growing up. I strongly believe that my musical creativity helps me come up with unique ideas and approach in my daily life as a nuclear engineer. I’m forever thankful for it.

Pieces I’ve played on my violin are things like Thunderstruck (yes, by AC/DC), Schindler’s List, Sarabande in G Minor, The Barber of Seville, the Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Praeludium Und Allegro, and a variety of classical pieces that include titles like “Concerto, Caprice, Prelude, Sonata.” I love challenging myself to new styles of music, including Welsh and modern movie scores. Occasionally, I play for a close friends wedding as well.

Now, my violin exists as a joy in my life. I perform when I want. I arrange music for fun. I learn the movie sound scores I’m obsessed with. Balancing right and left brain is a joy of mine!

Waterskiing

Honestly, I’ve never been the best at athletics - especially ones that include throwing. Throughout middle and high school, I ran track and field and tried my hand at volleyball, basketball, and even gave tennis a good shot. I quickly came to terms with one thing: I am not good at throwing a ball.

However, I loved lake days. I loved spending time on the water. When I started dating a boy (who is now my husband) that loved waterskiing, I figured I might as well give it a try. It took me a good two summers of trying and failing to get up on a slalom ski. Waterskiing didn’t come easy to me, and still doesn’t as I continue to learn new tricks and hone in my skills. However, it taught me how to fail, grab the handle, figure out what I want to do differently, and try it again.

In college, I joined the Wisconsin Waterski & Wakeboard Club at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I wasn’t a star skier, in fact I barely struggled to make the “A team” (think Varsity level) for one event as a junior in college. But, that waterski team is where I met some of my best friends and learned valuable non-profit management skills. As Fundraising chair for two years, I helped get the team to have some funds for the National competition and operations costs. Then, as President of the club I focused on making sure we had proper club equipment for people of all backgrounds to join the club and have equipment that fits.

This sport has been a valuable part of my life. I now literally determine where I want to live based on proximity to a lake or river that is a skiable body of water. There’s always another challenge, there’s always another type of skiing to learn, and there’s always someone to share the joy of this sport with. Plus, I’ll never say no to some time on the water no matter where I in the world I am.