Living out your dreams is something we tend to put a timestamp on. Thinking that if a goal isn’t accomplished by a certain age or date it’s time to give it up when really it’s the time to take a step back, refocus and re-evaluate. Oakland Native, Brely Evans, is the prime example of a woman who never gave up on success and doing what she was truly passionate about. She looked towards God and always kept her faith, which is why she’s one of the biggest inspirations in my life and I’m happy to call her my sister.

When she enters a room, her light seems to shine the brightest, yet she doesn’t dim anyone else’s. She has the smile of an angel, eyes of a Goddess and curves that only the lord, along with ya mama and daddy can bless you with.

As a little girl I would visit my Godparents house, sit on her bed full of stuffed animals and light up whenever she returned home to visit from the life she was creating in Los Angeles. I knew back then my sister was a star and was always happy to brag about this amazing voice she was blessed with. After all her voice was so good, it landed her with a record deal in 1994 with an R&B girl group called Emage. Although their album Soul Deep didn’t get the recognition it deserved and the group went separate ways, Brely, known as Kim to those who know her best, still managed to pull through and show the world her many talents. Till this day, I still get excited when someone messages me telling me they seen her on the screen.

Not only did she have the voice of a soulful angel, but she’s an actress, a comedienne, voice over talent, model, motivational speaker and she’s even sold a few homes to the stars.

Outside of her singing career, I can remember the first time I seen her on television. It was a Twix commercial and her famous line was, “Do I look fat in these?” showing off her curves in red pants. Every time I seen the commercial I got excited and I knew I’d be seeing more and more of her. But it was when she starred along Whitney Houston in the remake of Sparkle that I knew she’d be a face & voice no one could ever forget, she was made for the screen. Sure, everyone recognized her from the film Just Wright with Common and Queen Latifah, but Sparkle showed the world she was a triple threat. From appearing on Being Mary Jane, to starring in her own series, Last Call and now on the new hit show on OWN, Ambitions, she continues to prove you can live out your dreams.

Being a writer she has always been in my corner, before I even knew I had the talent, sending me snippets of the projects she had coming up to post on the first ever blog that I had because she was impressed with what she seen. Back then I had these dreams of wanting to have my own magazine and she never told me that I couldn’t do it but instead encouraged it. Though I haven’t taken the steps towards having a magazine, websites like WordPress have given me a platform to create content I want. When the time came that I expressed I wanted to write books, my sister always reminded me to stop wasting time but it wasn’t until she sent me a book by Gillian Alex called Tuesday At Three, that I dived into creating my books. The message she left me in the cover of the book and being able to speak to Gillian, gave me all the motivation I needed.

Sydney, Be Inspired.

Love You, Brely

P.S. Write your book and blog

It has been an honor to watch her live out her dreams and know that there’s still hope for me, even when I feel like I’m failing and should just let it go. She continues to send this message to her fans with her organization, Water Walkers Worldwide Inc, as a life coach. In order to walk in your purpose you have to overcome your fears and Brely constantly reminds everyone of it.

In the words of Brely, “You never know who will change your life. Listen to what people point out about you. Its usually the God in them speaking to the God in you.”

Be sure to check out her new show Ambitions and follow her on Instagram @brelyevans