Every time somebody would tell me I could not do it, I wanted to prove I could. And I did. When the doctors, headmasters and other people told me I couldn’t make it through grammar school with attending less than 40% of the classes, I did. When I was told I could never play the violin, I got into the Conservatory in Amsterdam. I have been playing ever since. Why am I telling you this?

I believe people can do much more than they think. YOU can do more than you think. Of course it won’t be easy. There will be times you want to give up. I have gone through these times as well. How many times I wanted to quit because my whole body was swollen red, hurt so much with the inflammations caused by lupus. When I would have no energy and felt like an old creaky lady instead of a young girl.

These were the times my violin saved me. I would pick it up and play. I would feel the vibrations through my body and feel better. Ever since I was six years old and started playing the violin I found my own medicine. Allergic to almost every drug, I found my cure. Through the difficult puberty years, when I was very ill, and the last three years battling Lupus. Pushing my boundaries with the help of my passion.

I wanted to perform standing. At first because it would allow me to be part of an ensemble which would only perform standing. Many of you would say, why couldn’t you just sit. That was prohibited by Coosje Wijzenbeek, the leader and my teacher. It made me feel excluded at first, but then gave me the drive to go for it. Maybe it would be impossible, maybe it would cause me pain, but this was something I wanted to achieve. So I did. For two years, I couldn’t do it. Trying, training every day, still it was too much for my body to handle. Then on a lovely summer day I was able to perform standing for the first time at the Peter de Grote Festival in Groningen!

Since this day many small and bigger achievements and obstacles have marked my way. This is my way and I will keep on going whatever barriers I will come across because I found my passion and I hope you will as well!