GIRL TALK: First in my Bloodline + Denim Studding & Patches 👖

UPDATE: Please RSVP on Partiful!

🩸 What is "First in my bloodline"?
So many of us are living firsts without ever acknowledging it. Many of us are children of sacrificing immigrants who had to grow up faster than we should have, who had to learn to navigate this world without help, or moving away from unhealthy dynamics for the first time.

This is my love letter to the girls who are the first in their bloodline.

First in my bloodline...
To live alone.
To travel alone.
To go to college.
To be financially independent.
To not rely on a man.
To break free from abuse cycles.
To work full-time outside the home.
Etc etc.

I want us to talk about it, to build about it, and to wear it proudly on us like badges of honor. Breaking generational barriers should be celebrated.

🛠️ What are we actually doing?
We will have several activities going:

1. Some variation of journaling and chatting about our stories
2. Creating charms with friendship bracelet materials (pins, chains, etc. to stick onto your jackets or jeans)
3. If you have patches you'd like to iron on, we will have a station!
4. Meditation Room—Adrianna has a sensory friendly meditation room we can use if things get overwhelming
5. Studding station—BYO clothes!
6. May or may not be some other stations open depending on donations and capacity—there’s a sewing machine and press so we can make tees 👀

Michelle from It's Our Hub will be setting us up for success!

🎨 Where are we doing this?
My friend Adrianna has graciously shared her precious space The CoLab with us. The CoLab is not open to the public and usually serves neurodivergent youth ages 14-24—if you know anyone who would love that, send them Adrianna's way!

I will also be asking everyone to donate to CoLab if you can—this is a huge kindness of Adrianna to share her space with us! It is gorgeous inside and everything is super clean and sensory friendly.

🤷🏽‍♀️ What do I bring?

• Denim or other items you would like to patch or add things to
• The patches you would like to iron on (you can find them around markets, online, etc.)
• Any crafts you'd like to share
• Any snacks you'd like to share

🛠️ This is amazing! How else can I support?
Please help us by bringing supplies or snacks OR with supply fees for this event! I would love a sliding scale donation of $10-$20 for this to help cover craft costs and give a little back to Adrianna. If I am able to get a little extra, I can bring some snacks the day of. If you are in financial hardship, please contact me separately and we can work something out!

Venmo: @Claudia-Chen
Zelle: theclaudiachen@icloud.com

---

A little about GIRL TALK:
When I first moved to the Bay Area a little over a year ago (for work, like many of us do), I was confused. I walked the streets and explored the same way I did back home, but it didn't feel the same. If I complimented a girl on her outfit while I was out, half the time she would reply with a flat "thanks" or not say anything at all. Women watched me get harassed on the street and said not a word, they left judgmental stares in place of support. I felt like I lost the bubbling sparkling energy and casual camaraderie that I had with other girls in LA: the hyping each other up followed by loud laughs in the bar bathroom, checking in on each other if we were walking alone at night, the fast friendships and shared values and solidarity.

I learned that a lot of people here don't value friendships the same way, or see them as mostly transactional. I knew that in order to survive here, I had to find my people and I'm grateful to have an outlet like this Meetup group to gather people with. At the same time, I dearly missed my life back in LA (that I will one day return to! Hopefully sooner rather than later) and had so much longing that I needed to turn into be-longing 😜

These events are little love letters to my friends, old and new. They're sparked by fond memories and deep convos I used to have with my friends back home—my talented skate friend who helped me tie my skates the first time I got on them, late night convos on the couch with my bff, invitations to group dinners where you can feel the care in each bite, my friends that I can always call up for a last-minute errand run. Life feels so much fuller with my friends who check on and spend time with me when I feel down, who dream big with me, whose accomplishments I get to celebrate. Through these gatherings, I hope to find good friends and good moments again.