A lot can happen to a person in six years. There can be accomplishments, successes, loss, heartbreak, but most importantly, growth. It’s incredible when a person’s life changes for the better, and sometimes it can be a little strange if that person’s life was never the same because of a TV Show.

If we took a Tardis or souped-up car back to 2010 to find a younger Kristina, there would be a stark difference in who you’d find, and I’m not just saying that because of the tattoos and hair change.

I remember first hearing about Glee in 2009, and I was convinced I would never follow mainstream hype about a show that was about high school kids singing covers of songs that I couldn’t find myself to care about in places other than the stage that was my shower. Then, a year later, I discovered the musical talent of Darren Criss with his friends at Team Starkid.

Courtesy of Tumblr

Criss was a major factor in my decision to humor my friends and find out what was so great about Glee. So, right when I found out just about when he would become a character on the show, I decided to watch the episode right before Criss was set to appear.

My very first episode was the “Rocky Horror Glee Show,” and I wasn’t too sure if it was just the fact that they wanted to do Rocky Horror or the actual cast itself, but they had effectively made sure I wanted to see more and more of the show. Then, “Never Been Kissed” happened and once those first notes for “Teenage Dream” began, I just knew my life would never be the same.

I mean, yeah, I already knew well ahead of time that Darren would be singing “Teenage Dream.” My Tumblr dashboard was bombarded with various clips people had already managed to find and I was just so unsure if I would even like the song being performed. I had never been so happy to be so wrong.

The performance had me sold for the entire show. I remember from that moment forward, I became a Gleek blog on Tumblr. I would be liveblogging every single episode, I would search for spoiler leaks from other blogs and, of course, I bought every song I possibly could. I had never been so into a show before and I honestly couldn’t bring myself to care that I was just such a major fan girl.

The days may have long passed since I would rush myself home to make sure I would be able to be set up to liveblog Glee, but I still made every effort to watch all the episodes in preparation for the final episode airing.

Glee honestly changed me in the best ways possible. It opened me up to really seeing the world differently and living my life like a better human being.

It made me feel comfortable in opening up about my life through even the littlest thing, of having me belt out the songs in my living room along with them. It gave me courage to be myself and speak my mind. It showed me that people can be different in various ways, but that doesn’t reduce their worth. It showed me that life will bring you many challenges that you’d never expect, but that friendship can be that support when you go through them. It showed me that even a loser like me can do something right with their life if they honestly want their dreams badly enough.

If I had to describe what Glee was to me in one word, it would definitely be acceptance. I don’t know if it’s just because my top 2 favorite characters, Puck and Santana, both managed to get past a really rough beginning to get somewhere where they are accepted and happy with themselves, the fact that the original characters’ timeline was similar to mine or just all the story arcs where the characters all struggled to get things right. Whichever the case, all I know is that this show made a difference to me.

To the Glee Cast, thank you for everything you have done in the past years through this show. I know I won’t be ready to say goodbye to this show because I’m going to be watching a major chapter in my life come to a close. But, if anything, I’m immensely excited to see all these fine people moving onto a new part of their lives.

The lessons I learned from this show will be with me for the rest of my life and I know that I’ll need probably 2.5 boxes of tissues for the finale. I can’t wait to hear all the final songs and cry over the final scenes. Thank you, Glee, for being a part of my life. Here’s to the next adventure.

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