Finding My Shine

“You can quit any time you want, but you can’t quit after a bad day. When you quit, quit after a good day.” -Finding My Shine. This quote was something that Nastia’s mother had told her and something that Nastia remembers and passes onto her readers.

In Finding My Shine, Nastia Luikin details her life. She was born in Russia, and her parents immigrated to the United States shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both her parents were gymnasts, with her father competing even after her birth. She talks about why her parents chose to come to the United States, rather than Canada, Germany, etc.

After initially settling in New Orleans, her parents moved to  Texas and set up a gym with a friend from Russia. It is at this gym where Nastia spent most of her time. She idolized the older girls and began gymnastics at a young age. Even though her parents were both gymnasts, they did not pressure her into gymnastics; it was a choice that she made.  Her parents even had her try other activities, such as piano, but she wanted to do gymnastics.

One of the things that Nastia talks about in her book is trying to reach your goals, not matter what other people say. Nastia set goals for her self and worked towards achieving them. A piece of advice  that Nastia had for reaching your goals is breaking your goals down into steps-or smaller goals. This way you can work towards each smaller goal on your way to accomplishing a larger goal.

She details her life after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and how she was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. She also talks about how she made the decision to come back and try for the 2012 London Olympic team; and how this led her to know what she wanted to major in in college.