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Hello, I’m Emma Grager [insert handshake here].<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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I’ve been doing this thing called life for a little over 19 years now. But the adventure it has been is so great, that one little number doesn’t seem to do it justice.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Here are some more numbers to fill in the picture:<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of stamps in my passport: 8<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of places I have lived: 3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of languages I speak: 3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of universities at which I’ve studied: 3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of instruments I play: 5<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Ratio of items of clothing in my closet to days in a week: 10:1<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Ratio of sugar and cream to one cup of coffee: 2 and a splash: 1 (repeat as necessary)<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of hours I spent driving a ski boat this summer: 220<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of songs I’ve written: 29<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of miles I currently am from “home”: 2,360<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Ratio of Italian heritage to Norwegian heritage: 1:1<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Number of books on my shelf: 32<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Ratio of words said to hand gestures used: 3:1<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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But maybe you’re like me, and words matter a lot more than numbers to you. In that case, let me add some color.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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I was born in Seattle, the first of two daughters of Courtney and Steve. I called that rainy city home until we moved to the East Bay area of California when I was four. My early years explain my combined love of storms and beaches. But I’d say I’m a California kid at heart.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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In the little suburb of Danville, my sister Camille and I spent most of our time playing outdoors. Six-year-old Emma could cook up a mean mud pie, construct a pond-worthy vessel for Lego people out of tin foil, and draw up architectural plans for a new tree house in just minutes. Little Emma also adored words: multicolored, dirigible, antagonize. Poor little Emma could not understand why her love of words meant that she had to change schools. Apparently first graders aren’t supposed to be able to read Stuart Little <\/i>until much later.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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I started second grade at a challenging private Christian school, which I attended until high school. The Christian Academy allowed my love of academics to flourish and my faith in Jesus to grow. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Starting high school felt like that first day of second grade in a lot of ways. I was surrounded by new people in an unfamiliar environment, anxious and excited. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
But some important things were different.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
My parents divorced that summer. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
I quit taking classical violin lessons, as I had been for the previous ten years. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
And I had been totally in love with Jesus Christ for about six years. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Family, music, and faith were and are the most influential aspects in my life. Each of these changes became blessings of their own in my high school years.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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As far as family goes, the divorce meant that my mom had finally found her self-worth and we had a shot at being psychologically healthy adults someday. I now live, when I visit home, with my mom and my sister. We “Grager Girls” make the best team I’ve ever been on.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Speaking of teams, sports were never my thing. I’ve tried everything you can think of. I now stick to snow skiing in the winter, water skiing in the summer, and going to the gym in between. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Instead my passion and gift lies in music. Stopping violin lessons didn’t mean stopping violin. Now, I play improvisational instead of classical. I’ve also picked up a few other instruments along the way. In fact, I have dedicated my career to the writing of songs, thanks to a little nudge from my main man, Jesus. But that’s a different story for another time.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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My faith informs my entire existence. I’m sold out and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My walk with God is a daily discovery of his grace, justice, love, and forgiveness. I don’t claim to know what I’m doing by any means, but I do claim to be His. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Family, music, and faith carried me through high school and to some fabulously unexpected places. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Like Georgetown University for a class on justice and peace.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Like Sojourners Magazine for a volunteer internship in writing.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Like Kenya for a worldview-altering experience with AIDS orphans.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Like a houseboat ministry camp for a summer of beautiful chaos. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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And, ultimately, here, to Vanderbilt University, as an English Creative Writing major. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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To this sentence.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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And from here on, I hope to use my love of words in combination with my other loves (fiddle music, Kenyan chai, old photos, long stories, rainy days, French pastries, Instagram, Photoshop, The Great Gatsby<\/i>, hiking, new people, old places, Shakespeare, traveling, new book smell, chocolate, Donne, and so much more) to give you a fresh perspective on the fascinating thing we do called life.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
By means of analogy. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Because somehow I am kind of like you.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
And you are kind of like me. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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And somehow This Is Kind of Like That. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I believe a proper introduction is in order.Hello, I’m Emma Grager [insert handshake here].I’ve been doing this thing called life for a little over 19 years now. But the adventure it has been is so great, that one little number doesn’t see… Continue reading