Grit, Glam, and Guts: AFG hosts a statewide teen conference aimed at helping young women tackle issues of identity

On June 11^th, Alternatives For Girls hosted the Grit, Glam, and Guts Teen Conference. The conference is for teen girls ages 12-18 and was aimed at tackling social and emotional issues of identity. During the one day event, the young women heard from speakers all over the state, participated in breakout sessions, and much more. The sessions explored healthy relationships, beauty standards, and social pressures.

We sat down with Chelsea and Shani, a couple of the AFG Peer Educators who attended the conference, to hear about their favorite speakers, activities, and how they plan to use what they learned in their everyday life.

Alternatives For Girls: What was your favorite workshop?

Chelsea: My favorite workshop was the one about legacy. The topic of the workshop is what you leave behind when you’re gone. It showed that anyone can do anything, no matter what background they come from.

AFG: What was the most interesting thing you learned throughout the day?

Shani: The most interesting thing I learned was how someone can be so resilient and still be successful after everything they went through. That was from one of the speakers, she gave us a testimony of her life and all of the things she went through.

AFG: What was the most fun activity you did?

Chelsea: Doing the makeup! They showed us how to do our makeup and then they let us do it ourselves.

Shani: The dream boards. Each speaker had different stickers and markers and they had us write down things we liked about each workshop.

AFG: What is something that you learned that you plan to use in your everyday life?

Shani: Legacy isn’t selfish. It means giving back to your community, in more ways than just financially.

Chelsea: Don’t let people get to you or tear you down.