There are some people you meet in life who you realize you were destined to meet, who you believe God has placed there to help you through some circumstance or to teach you a life lesson.

Some of these people may be less than savory characters. That woman who stops you in traffic just to tell you that all Asians are conspiring against her (a story for another day), the brat who slaps your ass on purpose in the store (also a story for another day), or the stinky boys in middle school who called you a cow (which I shared in Part 1). These people have done a lot to teach me patience, self-control, and to develop enough confidence in myself that I don’t require others’ praise.

Then there are the people you meet who are complete blessings…whether you’ve met them in person or not. Whether they’re still a part of your life or not. Whether they’re related to you or not. Thankfully, my mother is one of these blessings who will always be a big influence in my life.

I’d like to talk about a few others.

I “met” Taylor Swift over the air waves of my car when I was in college, and ever since then, she’s been such an inspiration. I recently read in one of her interviews that she used to believe that she’d never be able to do the splits, until she said to herself, “Why not?” and she continued to practice until she could. Read my full appreciation of this inspirational woman here.

WHY NOT?!!! Two simple words. And a whole lot of motivation. I used to think that I would never be able to do many things. Comment on my favorite author’s Facebook page. Send an agent a query letter. Publish a novel. Go to a Writers’ Conference. Strike up a conversation with a stranger in a coffee shop. Give a presentation in front of a class and several incredibly knowledgeable professors. Earn a Master’s Degree. Run three miles. Run six miles. Join a dance class or a group exercise class.

But WHY. FREAKING. NOT.?!!

Another person I’m blessed to have met is a lady from my gym. We always bumped into each other over the years, as we worked out around the same time, but it was about a year ago when we really started talking.

During one of these conversations, I found out she was an actress, and she found out I like to write. She was kind enough to go and buy both of my self-published books and actually read them. I think it helped to have someone other than my family tell me that my stories were good and that I should consider publishing them for real.

She was the one who encouraged me to join group exercise classes as well.

So this was what happened the first day I crossed the threshold to join my first Barre Fitness class:

1. I stumbled and fumbled.
2. Most of the people were older than me and a lot more fit. In other words, they could kick my butt.
3. I felt like I was in an episode of I Love Lucy, wondering how I would be able to extend my leg to get it high enough over the bar.

But you know what? It wasn’t that bad. No one laughed—and if they did, it was because they sympathized, telling me they experienced the same thing when they first started. No one made me feel inferior. And no one really cared at all because they were all focused on meeting their own personal goals.

In fact, I found them to be inspirational. I realized that in another twenty, thirty years, my goal was to be as fit and as flexible as them.

Going back to years ago, when I was still that awkward eleven year-old, I would never have thought that I would go to the gym at all, much less join a class. I wouldn’t have thought it possible that I could.

But I did. And applying this to other areas of life, it often does seem like something will never happen, that I’d never be able to do something.

But what if I can? And what if I will?

Because WHY THE HELL NOT?

It just takes one step. And then one more step.