Naya Rivera's sister Nickayla coped with her sibling's death by finding "the good in this world".
Naya Rivera died in July 2020
The 28-year-old model has opened up on the aftermath of the 'Glee' star's tragic death aged 33 in July 2020, and admitted she was in "complete shock".
In a lengthy YouTube video entitled 'Allow me to reintroduce myself', she said: "In July of 2020, my sister, Naya, passed away. And when that happened, I was in complete shock. My whole family was in complete shock.
"It was like someone pulled the rug from under us and we didn’t see it coming. The dark place that I was in before only progressed when that happened.
"At that time, I had no thoughts of my future. I had no thoughts of myself really. I was only just experiencing pain...
"I realised that the pain that I was experiencing wasn’t going to go anywhere until I decided to find the good in this world ... So, from then on, I went on this journey of discovering who I was. I started by quitting my vape that I had been smoking for two years."
Although it was "really hard" kicking the habit, Nickayla felt "empowered" and as if she "could do anything after that".
She continued: "I said no to doing a lot of things that I didn't want to do, but normally would for other people.
"I started putting myself first. I became mindful and observed how I felt each day.
"I started asking myself the tough questions of, 'What’s stopping me from being myself? What past hurt am I still holding onto? And why am I not living like every day is a gift?' Because it is."
And Nickayla - who moved in with her sister's ex-husband Dorsey to care for Naya and Ryan's now-six-year-old son Josey - admitted she has become a "changed person".
She added: "I found myself. I can say that I am a completely changed person."
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