I’ll start this by saying I’m not a religious person. I don’t necessarily believe in destiny, but I do believe in the Universe and each of us having an optimal path in life that we can achieve if we work hard enough.

That being said, I’ve been focusing on myself a lot more these days. That may sound funny coming for a self-proclaimed selfish person, but I’ve been thinking more about bettering myself and putting myself on that optimal path. I believe when you open yourself to the Universe, saying you are open and ready for change and the next step, It will deliver.

I’ve started getting back into writing and I’ve started reading again, which has been great. Growing up, if I wasn’t playing video games, I either had my nose buried in a book, or I was writing. It feels good to get back to that place, as I’d lost my way for a while. Typically, I’d read fiction, but I have been stumbling upon non-fiction these days. The most recent, which I just finished a few minutes ago (and started Wednesday or Thursday) as Sorry Not Sorry by Naya Rivera.

Glee was not my thing… at first. I am a rather contrary person. I will not like something solely because it is popular at the current moment. Back when Glee first was on the air, my friends were obsessed. My twenty-something friends. In the show’s defense, I hadn’t given it the time of day, I just knew if there was a bandwagon, I didn’t want to be on it.

The first song I heard from Glee  that made me rethink things was “Rumour Has It / Someone Like You.” I loved it and I loved Naya Rivera. A short time later, I was sick around Christmas time (Christmas time tends to be the time of the year I get sick for some reason), and had nothing better to do, so I watched my roommate’s copy of Glee season one. By the time I got to “I Say A Little Prayer,” I was hooked. Santana was naturally my favorite character, as she reminded me of me. By the time I started watching, I believe the show was in season three (if not further), so a bit of the hype had died down, making me more comfortable to become a fan.

Watching Glee always hit some spark in me, as I wish I had the talent to sing and dance as everyone displayed on the show. In another life, with another skill set, I would imagine myself coming on the show to play Santana’s equally sassy, younger brother, or cousin or something (Naya is ever so slightly older than I).

Naya sings a majority of my favorite songs from the show and I instantly became a fan. When I heard she was writing a book, I knew I would read it… some day. Well, that day came this week.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it found its way to me in a time when I’m going through my own journey of transformation (again, I believe you Universe provides to you what you put out to It.) I remember a time when I started to see more of Naya in things, such as interviews, rather than playing Santana, and I began to wonder if it was just Santana I liked, or if I liked the actress as well. Reading the book helped me realize I liked them both.

Reading about someone’s struggles and triumphs is quite inspirational, as it makes me feel I can do it too. Maybe one day someone will be writing a blog about how my memoir made the feel?

She talks about so many things. Love, childhood, marriage, work. It was entertaining and informative. I recommend it, especially if you are/were a fan of Naya’s. Reading it is yet another push I need towards chasing after my own dreams. One day I want my own version of Sorry Not Sorry. One day.