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(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
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GAVIN: Growing up is so many things.
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SINGER: We'll get through it all together
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AMIRI: Growing up is unpredictable.
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SINGER: This feeling's not forever
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SAGE: Growing up is a chance
to change the world.
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SINGER: Your time is right now...
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Growing up was... ugh.
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SINGER: Tell me how you feel
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Your scars will start to heal...
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We have the power and responsibility.
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SINGER: Tell me how you feel.
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We're climbing up the hilll
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Just don't keep your lips sealed...
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We deserve to be heard.
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SINGER: And just tell me how you feel
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GAVIN: Growing up is...
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-EMILY: Tumultuous.
-VANESSA: Cringy.
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-ATHENA: Confusing.
-SOFIA: Messy.
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-EMILY: Beautiful.
-GAVIN: Mandatory.
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-We did it!
-(APPLAUSE)
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(CAMERA CLICKS)
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(THEME MUSIC ENDS)
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ISABEL: I remember you calling me
your best friend to someone.
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Once I heard it, I was like...
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Huh, I was like, "We are best friends,"
like it didn't hit me until you said that.
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CLARE: We grew up together and we were
just trying to figure our stuff out.
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We were discovering together what we were
passionate about, what we were capable of.
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It really just makes you a happier person
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just because you know that
someone has your back.
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I don't know, I feel like our friendship
has always just, like, grounded me.
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-Aw.
-(LAUGHS)
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Yeah, I definitely feel the same way.
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FEMALE VOICE: Take one mark.
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I can't. I can see
my reflection in this camera.
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Really? Oh, yeah.
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(BOTH LAUGHING)
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(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
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If I start talking too fast,
give me a signal or something,
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and I'll slow down.
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Um, so, hi, I'm Clare.
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Um, I'm 19 and, uh, I'm from
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
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and that's where I met Isabel.
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Hi, I'm Isabel.
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I'm also 19
and I'm also from Pennsylvania.
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(CALM MUSIC PLAYING)
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CLARE: We've been through a lot together,
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like, growing up is, like,
difficult and hard.
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And, like, it's annoying and it's, like,
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-awkward and...
-Confusing. Yeah.
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...awkward. All these cliché things.
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We just had created all these,
like, memories and shared experiences.
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I think that really, like,
solidified, like, our friendship.
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ISABEL: And I feel like in the movies
when you see best friends,
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the best friend could just walk through
the other best friend's house.
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Like, sit down,
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make themself food or whatever
and, like, no one would really care.
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And I feel like that's true
for Clare and I's relationship too.
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But a lot of people didn't understand
why we were so close, I would say.
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Yes, just because Clare is very loud,
and I'm a bit calmer. And...
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-I was... Yeah, sorry, Clare.
-(LAUGHTER)
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-She agrees, though. It's okay. (LAUGHS)
-I do.
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I think that's just the main difference,
but we actually have very similar,
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like, perspectives,
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and, like, ideas about, like,
what's going on. If that makes sense.
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Did you have any fears about fitting in?
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-Oh, my God. Yeah. (LAUGHS)
-Oh, completely.
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I think the both of us did.
Um, mine started pretty early.
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Growing up as an Asian-American
in such a predominantly White community
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was very tough for me and I always felt
like an outsider growing up.
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I remember getting to pre-school,
my parents dropped me off,
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spoke in Mandarin and Cantonese to me,
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saying that they love me, and they want me
to have a nice day at school,
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and all this type of stuff.
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And immediately from the start,
all the kids and all their parents,
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everyone just stops where they are,
turns and looks at us.
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Just, like, so appalled that...
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I don't know, like,
there's a foreign language being spoken.
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It didn't help that I was the only
Asian-American in my class as well.
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Here I was trying to make
all these new friends
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that my parents
have been telling me about,
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and here they were all looking at me
so weirdly. I hated the feeling.
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I remember getting back home
and they're like,
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"Oh, how was your first day at school?"
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I was like, "Why did you speak to me
in Chinese?" I was like,
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"Why? All the kids were looking at me."
And I was like,
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"Don't speak Chinese to me.
Only speak English to me."
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(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
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VINNY: We all grow up giving
her a choice,
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but not really holding her hand.
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I speak Cantonese
and my wife speak Mandarin.
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When she was little,
I always spoke Chinese to her,
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and I feel it's the way
that she could carry the culture.
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But we live in a small town
where everyone speak English.
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And she feeling kinda lost,
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so we kind of let her do
what she want to do.
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Having immigrant parents,
there's no way that the parents
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could've, like, prepared us for that.
Like, 'cause they... they didn't know.
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They didn't grow up here.
Like, you go home to your parents
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and they don't know what to do.
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You're raising these girls
in a White world
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and you just, like, don't know
what to do about that.
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(MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING)
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ISABEL: On the outside, I was just,
like, this Chinese-American girl
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that everyone went to school with,
but on the inside,
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I felt, like, so alone,
like no one could really relate to me.
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I saw the kids were
looking at me different,
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so my solution in my head was,
"Don't be different
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"and be like everyone else."
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And asking them to throw away,
like, the part of their culture
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that they wanted me to grow up with.
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I didn't want to enjoy my culture
outside of my home life,
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and I wish I knew in that moment
how badly I would regret that
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later on in my life.
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I didn't have barely any friends.
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I felt like I had no one
I could relate to, whereas Clare...
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I'm an only child.
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I'm very close with my parents
just because I am an only child.
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PATRICK: All right,
tell us how old you are.
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Eight.
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PATRICK: And what do you want
to tell your future self?
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-Never smoke.
-(PATRICK LAUGHING)
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It was very much about learning and growth
and, like, independence and, like,
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taking charge of your own self.
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PATRICK: Clare is a very outgoing person.
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She always wanted to participate
in what's happening.
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She's always been very driven.
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She's somebody who'll organize things
and bring people together,
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but driven at the same time. Yeah.
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CLARE: I definitely have, like,
a more in-your-face personality.
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And when I was younger,
I didn't really know how to temper that.
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And I just am a little bit
in my head more.
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My parents always, like,
were including me in their conversation.
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They just, like, talked to me
like I was a little adult.
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INTERVIEWER: Tell me the first memory
you have of each other.
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First memory that I have of Isabel
is just, like, her coming up to me
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and being, like, "Hey." It was when I,
like, first got to the school.
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Because I transferred schools
in the sixth grade.
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And I was trying to make friends,
like, my first week
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and she was kind enough
to come up to me and chat with me.
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-It's such a nice story.
-(BOTH CHUCKLE)
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You, uh, were not afraid to
challenge the teacher or anything.
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And I really respected that.
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I was like, "Oh, my gosh. Wow."
like, "This girl is so cool."
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Seventh grade,
we were in the same homeroom,
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but we'd never hung out
outside of school before.
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In the beginning of eighth grade,
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I was planning on going
to Comic-Con in New York City.
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Isabel and I, like, talked about,
you know, superhero movies together.
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CLARE: (ON PHONE) Hello, Isabel?
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(NARRATING) I'm like,
"Hey, I know this is crazy.
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Do you want to come to Comic-Con?
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"I have this extra ticket,
you can go for free."
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Yeah, surprisingly,
like, my parents said yes.
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So, she slept over,
'cause we left really early.
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My dad has very much
gotten into Eastern philosophy.
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And Isabel came over
my house, she's, like... like,
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-"What the heck is this?" Like...
-ISABEL: Well, okay...
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...giant painting of Buddha doing in this,
like, White girl's house right now?
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I was so confused because...
I mean... And none of my other friends
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growing up, did they have anything
resembling to, like, Eastern culture.
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And I walk into Clare's house,
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there's, like, mini Buddha statues
around her house.
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It was more of like
a mini culture shock for me,
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just because we have a lot more
in common than I thought.
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(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
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CLARE: And that was the first time
we, like, had really hung out,
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and we, like, got along really well.
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ISABEL: Both of our dads
grew up with comic books,
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so we also bonded over how both
of our dads connect with us through that.
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Yeah. My dad is, like,
a huge comic book fan.
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We own, like, 3000 comic books.
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I have a large collection of comic books.
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Comic book is one thing I love.
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And I used to collect them.
Imagine I'm Spider-Man.
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It's a great connection that me
and my daughter have.
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Clare got interested in them.
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And then Comic-Con was the thing
that brought the kids together.
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We went and we got to meet Carrie Fisher
before she passed away, actually.
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So, that was really cool.
We met Mark Hamill.
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I was just excited to, like,
make a new friend
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and share this, like, experience with her.
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We had a great time. It was really fun.
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And so, basically, then, like,
by the end of eighth grade,
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we were, like, best friends.
And then, like, you know, in high school
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we just, like, continued that friendship.
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Our high school
was very stereotypically Americana.
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It's very cliquey.
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Everyone's always trying to make
a really big impression.
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Everyone's always trying
to fit in with the popular kids.
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I definitely hid parts of my personality
to try to fit in
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because all I wanted to be
was one of the popular girls.
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And so, we joined, like,
a million different things.
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I was the assistant editor of yearbook.
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-I was in the student council.
-President of Student Senate.
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-Science Olympiad.
-I was the captain of the Mock Trial team.
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Girls' Varsity Tennis.
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I played Varsity Tennis all four years
of high school.
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-Symphony Orchestra.
-Marching band.
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Spanish Club.
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PATRICK: She's always been involved
in a tremendous amount of activities.
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I think society puts that pressure on kids
now to perform in that way.
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She definitely got overwhelmed.
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She's very involved
with all these organizations.
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I don't even know
how does she have time to sleep.
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I was spreading myself out so thin
and never really being true to who I was.
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CLARE: You're 13 years old,
you're just trying to figure yourself out,
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and I overextended myself immensely.
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I was putting
all of this pressure on myself.
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Having a million things to do
gave me a way
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to channel the unreasonable amount
of anxiety that I had.
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And all throughout high school,
I would have panic attacks so bad,
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that I would, like, vomit.
And I just, like, didn't tell anyone.
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I didn't realize at the time that I was
dealing with an anxiety disorder.
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She joined all of these clubs
and had all these activities,
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so it did seem like the pressure
was coming from
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participating in all these things.
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CLARE: There was definitely,
like, a reckoning for me, like,
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"Who am I doing this all for?"
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Like, "Why am I getting involved
with all of this?"
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So, that really made me re-examine
things I was doing
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that didn't bring me any sort of joy.
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I wasn't living, like,
the fullest life that I could've.
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(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
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Around sophomore year of high school,
I, like, scrolling through social media
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and I see a post by a youth magazine
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It was about period poverty.
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I had never heard of that term before.
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00:10:13,614 --> 00:10:16,950
I click the link and it was just
an article about this non-profit,
230
00:10:17,076 --> 00:10:20,663
um, called "Period"
which fought to end period poverty.
231
00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,208
Which means not having the proper access
to menstrual products
232
00:10:24,333 --> 00:10:26,251
due to, uh, financial constraints.
233
00:10:26,794 --> 00:10:28,921
And so, I'm reading this article
and they have all these, like,
234
00:10:29,004 --> 00:10:31,048
very, very alarming statistics.
235
00:10:31,131 --> 00:10:33,550
I think one of them was, like,
one in five girls have missed school
236
00:10:33,634 --> 00:10:34,802
due to period poverty.
237
00:10:35,177 --> 00:10:37,262
And I learned that
because of all of the stigma,
238
00:10:37,388 --> 00:10:39,181
people were ashamed of periods,
239
00:10:39,306 --> 00:10:42,518
and so they didn't talk about the fact
that it was affecting their lives so much.
240
00:10:43,477 --> 00:10:46,939
Feminine products in schools
for students who might need them
241
00:10:47,064 --> 00:10:48,482
or can't afford them.
242
00:10:48,691 --> 00:10:51,235
FEMALE VOICE: We shouldn't be made
to keep it a secret.
243
00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:56,115
Everyone's, like, just kind of grossed out
and then embarrassed to talk about it.
244
00:10:56,281 --> 00:10:58,826
CLARE: And so, it was just not something
that I had ever thought about.
245
00:10:58,951 --> 00:11:01,870
And definitely, like,
a checkup on my privilege.
246
00:11:01,954 --> 00:11:02,996
(SIGHS)
247
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,082
You know, if you have the ability
to give back, you should,
248
00:11:05,165 --> 00:11:07,292
and, like, that was something
that was instilled in both of us.
249
00:11:07,376 --> 00:11:09,044
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
250
00:11:11,964 --> 00:11:13,716
(PHONE RINGING)
251
00:11:15,259 --> 00:11:16,969
-ISABEL: (OVER PHONE) Hello?
-CLARE: And I was like,
252
00:11:17,052 --> 00:11:19,179
"Let's start a chapter of this
organization at our high school.
253
00:11:19,304 --> 00:11:21,098
"Let's start raising money
254
00:11:21,348 --> 00:11:24,184
"to get period products to people
who need them in our community."
255
00:11:24,309 --> 00:11:25,519
What do you think?
256
00:11:27,062 --> 00:11:28,105
Um...
257
00:11:28,522 --> 00:11:29,648
Well...
258
00:11:31,734 --> 00:11:34,653
-Hello, Isabel?
-Yeah, let's do it.
259
00:11:34,778 --> 00:11:37,531
We didn't realize
how many people this affects.
260
00:11:37,698 --> 00:11:39,908
We can help anyone
in our community with this.
261
00:11:40,242 --> 00:11:41,577
Okay, let's do it.
262
00:11:41,785 --> 00:11:43,287
(UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES)
263
00:11:46,039 --> 00:11:47,207
(CURSOR CLICKS)
264
00:11:47,332 --> 00:11:50,210
When I brought the idea to Isabel, like,
I knew that it would not go over
265
00:11:50,294 --> 00:11:52,796
easily in our high school
and in our community.
266
00:11:54,506 --> 00:11:56,258
MARILYN: I will admit
to being a little concerned
267
00:11:56,425 --> 00:11:58,552
about how it was gonna play
in her high school.
268
00:11:58,969 --> 00:12:00,554
PATRICK: I had a lot to learn.
269
00:12:00,721 --> 00:12:02,931
She taught me about the stigma.
270
00:12:03,390 --> 00:12:05,517
CLARE: I mean, I was just like
every other teenage girl.
271
00:12:05,601 --> 00:12:07,436
We were all hiding our tampons
when we went to the bathroom.
272
00:12:07,519 --> 00:12:08,479
We were all hiding our pads.
273
00:12:08,604 --> 00:12:11,023
Like, when I was first getting my period
the first couple of times,
274
00:12:11,148 --> 00:12:12,608
I was always so embarrassed.
275
00:12:12,733 --> 00:12:14,651
It'd be the middle of a school day,
and there'd be nothing
276
00:12:14,735 --> 00:12:16,403
that I could do about it until I got home.
277
00:12:17,321 --> 00:12:20,407
I was a bit "Don't want to talk about it,"
278
00:12:20,657 --> 00:12:22,826
because of the culture
I was growing up with.
279
00:12:23,494 --> 00:12:26,705
ISABEL: These are just very tough topics
for them to talk about.
280
00:12:26,830 --> 00:12:29,583
I definitely had my own stigma
surrounding menstruation
281
00:12:29,666 --> 00:12:31,668
just because when I first got my period,
282
00:12:31,752 --> 00:12:34,463
I went to my mom and, I mean,
I thought I was dying at the time.
283
00:12:34,546 --> 00:12:36,757
I was, like, "I'm bleeding,"
like, "I'm dying."
284
00:12:36,882 --> 00:12:38,634
My mom was, like, "No, you're not dying."
285
00:12:38,717 --> 00:12:41,386
She was, like, "This is very normal."
Just handed me a pad
286
00:12:41,470 --> 00:12:43,639
and that was... that was the end
of the story right there.
287
00:12:44,056 --> 00:12:45,766
I learned from other people that, like,
288
00:12:45,891 --> 00:12:49,353
it wasn't really a thing you should be
talking about with others.
289
00:12:49,728 --> 00:12:53,440
CLARE: I really felt this need to confront
this stigma in order to help other people.
290
00:12:53,899 --> 00:12:56,068
MARILYN: And she was really passionate
about this and I was, like,
291
00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,612
"Go for it," and you... you were
basically the same way.
292
00:12:58,737 --> 00:13:02,115
I was all for it because it was
totally punk and I loved it.
293
00:13:02,241 --> 00:13:03,367
(LAUGHS)
294
00:13:03,742 --> 00:13:05,869
-(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
-ISABEL: It was scary in the beginning,
295
00:13:05,953 --> 00:13:08,622
'cause I just wanted to, like,
fit in so badly. I was like,
296
00:13:08,705 --> 00:13:10,249
"What do I have to lose at that point?"
297
00:13:10,374 --> 00:13:12,376
To try to get members,
Isabel and I would go into classrooms
298
00:13:12,459 --> 00:13:14,795
and be like, "Hey, guys. Can we just
have your attention for a minute?
299
00:13:14,878 --> 00:13:16,713
"Here's what we're doing.
Here's what we're trying to start.
300
00:13:16,839 --> 00:13:18,549
-"We'd love to have you."
-So, sign up.
301
00:13:19,091 --> 00:13:20,509
-No.
-Gross.
302
00:13:21,134 --> 00:13:24,012
It was very rough from the start
because even hearing the word, "period"...
303
00:13:24,137 --> 00:13:25,347
Have you heard of period poverty?
304
00:13:25,597 --> 00:13:26,932
(LAUGHS)
305
00:13:27,057 --> 00:13:29,726
-People were, like, "Ew, what?"
-I don't care about this.
306
00:13:30,435 --> 00:13:32,437
That's for you to deal with on your own.
307
00:13:33,772 --> 00:13:34,857
In private.
308
00:13:35,232 --> 00:13:37,609
Mostly teenage boys,
boys in our high school would be like...
309
00:13:37,734 --> 00:13:41,864
What are you guys even gonna do
in this club? Just cry and eat chocolate?
310
00:13:42,656 --> 00:13:45,701
Some of the students
were not so receptive.
311
00:13:45,868 --> 00:13:47,703
(COMICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
312
00:13:50,497 --> 00:13:53,417
That sounds really bad,
but it wasn't that dramatic.
313
00:13:54,251 --> 00:13:55,669
No one was gonna slushie us.
314
00:13:56,003 --> 00:13:58,881
Would they try to make fun of us
in front of their class
315
00:13:59,006 --> 00:14:01,550
to get people to laugh? Sure.
316
00:14:01,633 --> 00:14:02,926
(LAUGHS)
317
00:14:06,555 --> 00:14:07,931
But no. No slushie-ing.
318
00:14:09,099 --> 00:14:12,102
ISABEL: So, we went on to
establish the club,
319
00:14:12,227 --> 00:14:14,271
-and our first meeting was kind of a flop.
-(CHUCKLES)
320
00:14:14,396 --> 00:14:18,275
Um, we started off with two members.
They're right here.
321
00:14:18,525 --> 00:14:20,944
-(GIGGLING)
-ISABEL: First two members are here.
322
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,655
I mean, it's not like all at once
you could just
323
00:14:23,780 --> 00:14:25,574
stop having a stigma towards something
324
00:14:25,657 --> 00:14:28,327
as big as the stigma
surrounding menstruation.
325
00:14:28,535 --> 00:14:30,579
I feel like you, kind of,
are forced to look at
326
00:14:30,704 --> 00:14:33,165
how you view yourself,
just because you're throwing yourself
327
00:14:33,248 --> 00:14:36,460
so out there. But because I had someone
that had my back, like Clare,
328
00:14:36,585 --> 00:14:39,963
I was like, "Okay. I might as well
just work on breaking out of my mold
329
00:14:40,088 --> 00:14:41,924
"at this point.
Like, I'm already so far deep.
330
00:14:42,049 --> 00:14:43,675
"Might as well
just see where this takes me."
331
00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:45,135
Especially because we wanted other people
332
00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:46,511
-to not feel that stigma, right?
-Right.
333
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,847
So we, ourselves, had to, like...
we had to be held
334
00:14:48,972 --> 00:14:50,807
-to that standard as well.
-Mm-hmm. I completely agree.
335
00:14:50,933 --> 00:14:53,977
But that never really deterred us
from our goal. We kept on working hard.
336
00:14:54,144 --> 00:14:55,979
Our club is tri, it has three pillars.
337
00:14:56,104 --> 00:14:58,148
Uh, service, education and advocacy.
338
00:14:58,357 --> 00:15:01,735
We serve our community by providing
free period products to women in need.
339
00:15:02,903 --> 00:15:04,446
We also... (CHUCKLES)
340
00:15:04,529 --> 00:15:06,365
I'm sorry. Wait,
I thought you were gonna say...
341
00:15:06,490 --> 00:15:08,116
-A service...
-Eventually, like, with more effort
342
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,744
and more dedication and work,
people started taking notice.
343
00:15:10,827 --> 00:15:14,915
They were like, "Oh, this is, like,
pretty cool. Uh, we should... join this."
344
00:15:15,248 --> 00:15:17,417
Just by really word of mouth,
we really started to get
345
00:15:17,501 --> 00:15:18,627
a little bit more membership.
346
00:15:18,752 --> 00:15:21,505
We give young girls, um,
menstrual education
347
00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:23,423
and we also try to end the period stigma.
348
00:15:23,548 --> 00:15:26,927
And the school board administration, like,
loved all the effort that we put in.
349
00:15:27,052 --> 00:15:31,056
And finally, we advocate to,
uh, ending period poverty, uh,
350
00:15:31,139 --> 00:15:34,935
through systemic ways by lobbying, uh,
the Pennsylvania state government.
351
00:15:35,310 --> 00:15:37,396
Our superintendent,
he didn't know this was a problem.
352
00:15:37,479 --> 00:15:39,815
But once we brought it to atten...
his attention, he was, like,
353
00:15:39,940 --> 00:15:41,566
"Let's do this. Let's get it fixed."
354
00:15:41,733 --> 00:15:44,778
We were able to lobby them to put,
uh, free period products
355
00:15:44,861 --> 00:15:46,989
in all of the high school,
middle school bathrooms.
356
00:15:47,197 --> 00:15:48,782
Which was, like, a huge win for us.
357
00:15:48,949 --> 00:15:50,575
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
358
00:15:52,577 --> 00:15:55,080
So, all of a sudden,
girls would have their period
359
00:15:55,205 --> 00:15:57,791
and they would be, like,
"Oh, my gosh. I forgot a tampon."
360
00:15:57,916 --> 00:16:00,335
And then someone else in the class
would be like, "Oh, my gosh, no,
361
00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:02,045
"there's tampons
and pads in the bathroom."
362
00:16:04,673 --> 00:16:06,883
CLARE: It was so cool to be, like, "Hey,
like, oh, you forgot one?
363
00:16:07,050 --> 00:16:09,678
"Well, don't worry. It's not a problem.
Like, we got you covered.
364
00:16:09,761 --> 00:16:11,013
"And we have your back."
365
00:16:13,765 --> 00:16:16,852
Helping someone and making sure that they
were able to stay in class was just, like,
366
00:16:16,977 --> 00:16:18,603
it was the coolest.
It was really the coolest.
367
00:16:18,770 --> 00:16:21,231
-And now, it's normal today.
-Yeah, and now it's just normalized.
368
00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:22,482
-It's so normalized.
-Which is wild.
369
00:16:22,607 --> 00:16:24,151
SINGER: Everybody look
370
00:16:24,818 --> 00:16:26,278
You ain't seen nothing like this
371
00:16:26,445 --> 00:16:28,530
Nothing like this
Nothing like this
372
00:16:28,655 --> 00:16:31,867
You ain't seen nothing like this
Nothing like this before
373
00:16:33,285 --> 00:16:34,453
Hey
374
00:16:35,746 --> 00:16:36,830
Yeah yeah yeah
375
00:16:37,289 --> 00:16:39,708
Hey
Nothing like this before
376
00:16:40,792 --> 00:16:42,169
You ain't seen nothing like this
377
00:16:42,252 --> 00:16:44,546
Nothing like this
Nothing like this
378
00:16:44,755 --> 00:16:47,966
You ain't seen nothing like this
Nothing like this before
379
00:16:51,470 --> 00:16:52,596
Yeah yeah yeah
380
00:16:54,097 --> 00:16:55,599
Nothing like this before
381
00:16:58,143 --> 00:17:01,021
CLARE: We got a lot more membership
after we got the period products
382
00:17:01,104 --> 00:17:02,105
in the bathroom.
383
00:17:02,397 --> 00:17:03,482
SINGER: Nothing like this before
384
00:17:04,232 --> 00:17:05,358
Yeah yeah yeah...
385
00:17:05,442 --> 00:17:08,070
CLARE: I think a lot of how we got people
to care in our community,
386
00:17:08,153 --> 00:17:10,655
was really just linking it
to the intersectionality.
387
00:17:10,739 --> 00:17:12,783
This is an educational issue.
This is a health issue.
388
00:17:12,949 --> 00:17:16,078
This is a civil rights issue.
And there are nonbinary folks
389
00:17:16,161 --> 00:17:18,622
and trans men who need those products.
390
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,166
(MUSIC ENDS)
391
00:17:21,249 --> 00:17:23,919
Everyone is affected by it
somehow, someway.
392
00:17:24,252 --> 00:17:27,756
I find it so amazing that you all see
393
00:17:27,923 --> 00:17:31,343
the menstrual equity movement
as so intersectional
394
00:17:31,468 --> 00:17:35,222
and not limiting menstruation
just to folks who identify
395
00:17:35,305 --> 00:17:36,556
as women and girls.
396
00:17:36,681 --> 00:17:38,391
The work that you're doing
is so important.
397
00:17:39,101 --> 00:17:42,479
CLARE: It didn't matter how you identify
or what your gender is,
398
00:17:42,729 --> 00:17:44,523
make sure that people feel dignity
399
00:17:44,648 --> 00:17:47,526
and they can go out and focus on
whatever they need to focus on.
400
00:17:47,651 --> 00:17:51,154
We need all of you. Sign our petitions.
Call your local legislators.
401
00:17:51,238 --> 00:17:52,906
There are things that you can do
to get involved.
402
00:17:53,031 --> 00:17:55,200
-Thank you guys so much for coming.
-(CHEERING)
403
00:17:55,283 --> 00:17:56,827
Me and Isabel, we were doing it together.
404
00:17:56,910 --> 00:18:00,122
We were seeing the real impact
that we were making in our community.
405
00:18:00,497 --> 00:18:03,583
VINNY: It is something that is
a learning lesson for all of us
406
00:18:03,708 --> 00:18:05,877
in the older generation.
407
00:18:06,294 --> 00:18:10,799
Having her doing this,
make us more accepting
408
00:18:11,007 --> 00:18:14,886
and more understanding,
and not a taboo thing anymore.
409
00:18:15,262 --> 00:18:17,305
CLARE: There were so many other people
who were involved,
410
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:19,182
but even, like, my small part
411
00:18:19,391 --> 00:18:22,310
made me feel good and, like,
it helped my mental health.
412
00:18:22,686 --> 00:18:23,979
I started to go to therapy.
413
00:18:24,104 --> 00:18:26,398
I really, like,
learned practical techniques.
414
00:18:26,481 --> 00:18:29,192
And, like, having my friends
and family be aware of it and, like,
415
00:18:29,317 --> 00:18:31,987
they're better able to support me
so I don't feel so alone.
416
00:18:32,445 --> 00:18:36,533
Isabel particularly,
she has been so accepting of me,
417
00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,160
like, my flaws and my issues.
418
00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:40,704
ISABEL: It's really nice to have
someone that has your back
419
00:18:40,787 --> 00:18:42,706
because you don't have to be,
like, alone all the time,
420
00:18:42,789 --> 00:18:45,333
thinking your thoughts and I would say
that's the most important thing
421
00:18:45,417 --> 00:18:46,543
Clare's ever taught me.
422
00:18:47,294 --> 00:18:49,880
Clare is essentially the first person
that I met that really made me
423
00:18:49,963 --> 00:18:51,631
feel comfortable in my own culture.
424
00:18:52,007 --> 00:18:55,468
Growing up, I was so focused
on what everyone else was thinking.
425
00:18:56,261 --> 00:19:00,056
And I would say as I started
to become de-stigmatized to periods,
426
00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:04,102
I also started to reclaim
my heritage at the same time.
427
00:19:04,269 --> 00:19:08,940
So, uh, I started asking my parents
more about, like, my heritage, my culture,
428
00:19:09,065 --> 00:19:12,652
and I started to want to talk
to my grandparents more.
429
00:19:13,486 --> 00:19:16,823
I have grandparents in China,
and they don't speak English.
430
00:19:16,907 --> 00:19:19,159
So, once I started losing
the language and my culture,
431
00:19:19,284 --> 00:19:21,411
it became harder to even
communicate with them,
432
00:19:21,494 --> 00:19:24,331
to the point
where I stopped talking to them.
433
00:19:24,539 --> 00:19:26,082
And I was, like,
434
00:19:26,249 --> 00:19:28,043
"Do I want to have regrets
about this in the future,
435
00:19:28,126 --> 00:19:30,462
"or do I want to know that
I tried my best?"
436
00:19:31,046 --> 00:19:34,132
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
437
00:19:34,883 --> 00:19:37,802
In my first semester,
I started taking Mandarin lessons,
438
00:19:37,886 --> 00:19:40,680
and I've slowly been able to talk to them.
439
00:19:40,805 --> 00:19:43,475
So much so that I recently
had my first call with my grandparents
440
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:44,601
without my mom.
441
00:19:44,809 --> 00:19:47,979
I was, like, "Wow. I can't believe
I was missing this for,
442
00:19:48,063 --> 00:19:49,189
"like, so many years."
443
00:19:49,272 --> 00:19:53,068
If I just went back in time
and told my preschool self to continue
444
00:19:53,235 --> 00:19:54,694
keeping my heritage with me,
445
00:19:54,819 --> 00:19:58,782
I could have saved myself all this pain.
And I felt so lost for years, but...
446
00:19:59,241 --> 00:20:00,700
once I found my heritage again,
447
00:20:00,825 --> 00:20:02,827
it was a feeling
I really just cannot describe.
448
00:20:02,911 --> 00:20:04,579
I just felt, like, so complete.
449
00:20:05,330 --> 00:20:08,583
VINNY: We also were very proud
to see her starting to
450
00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:09,960
appreciate her root.
451
00:20:10,502 --> 00:20:13,463
I was amazed by how fast
she learned Mandarin.
452
00:20:13,672 --> 00:20:15,173
She carried our...
453
00:20:15,298 --> 00:20:18,969
our tradition very well,
which we're very happy about it.
454
00:20:19,719 --> 00:20:22,681
MARILYN: The two of them together
are just so funny, I mean,
455
00:20:22,764 --> 00:20:24,683
to have the same best friend
456
00:20:24,766 --> 00:20:28,186
through those formative, uh, years,
I think is pretty special.
457
00:20:28,979 --> 00:20:32,148
-(LAUGHING)
-I wish I had something like that. A BFF.
458
00:20:33,358 --> 00:20:34,943
CLARE: We are both now
at different colleges,
459
00:20:35,068 --> 00:20:36,236
doing different things.
460
00:20:36,403 --> 00:20:39,114
We went from seeing each other,
like, basically every day, right?
461
00:20:39,531 --> 00:20:41,825
Um, to, like, not seeing
each other in, like, a year.
462
00:20:42,367 --> 00:20:45,870
Going away for college, it was tough
to say our goodbyes. That was really sad.
463
00:20:47,330 --> 00:20:49,416
CLARE: I think that we'll still be...
continue to be friends.
464
00:20:49,541 --> 00:20:52,043
Like, as the years go by
just because we both, like,
465
00:20:52,168 --> 00:20:54,504
dedicated to that friendship.
466
00:20:55,255 --> 00:20:57,924
-Will we always stay this close?
-Of course.
467
00:20:58,091 --> 00:20:59,384
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
468
00:20:59,634 --> 00:21:01,261
SINGER: Feel it all
Feel it all
469
00:21:04,222 --> 00:21:06,391
Feel it all
Feel it all
470
00:21:06,516 --> 00:21:07,517
(POP MUSIC CONCLUDES)
471
00:21:11,521 --> 00:21:13,148
ISABEL: While we were
both away for college,
472
00:21:13,273 --> 00:21:16,276
we learned that we don't have to be
talking to each other 24/7
473
00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:17,527
in order to still be best friends.
474
00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:19,654
It's just tough finding those moments
we can speak to each other.
475
00:21:19,738 --> 00:21:20,947
-Yeah. You have to make time.
-Yeah.
476
00:21:22,657 --> 00:21:23,825
(PHONE VIBRATES)
477
00:21:26,536 --> 00:21:27,787
(PHONE VIBRATES)
478
00:21:34,669 --> 00:21:37,047
ISABEL: While we're both on campus,
we're all busy doing things.
479
00:21:37,839 --> 00:21:39,299
But once we catch up...
480
00:21:39,424 --> 00:21:42,385
(LAPTOP CHIMING)
481
00:21:42,802 --> 00:21:43,887
ISABEL: Hi.
482
00:21:43,970 --> 00:21:46,473
Oh, my God. I got approved
to study abroad today.
483
00:21:46,681 --> 00:21:48,058
Did you... It's official?
484
00:21:48,183 --> 00:21:49,642
-Yeah...
-Oh, my gosh, congrats!
485
00:21:49,809 --> 00:21:51,853
Will you come visit me?
I'm being, like, so serious.
486
00:21:52,228 --> 00:21:56,107
CLARE: Having someone who you can
actually rely on is very rare.
487
00:21:56,649 --> 00:22:00,695
My growing up experience would not have
been the same if we hadn't met.
488
00:22:00,862 --> 00:22:02,864
So, I'm eternally grateful for her.
489
00:22:03,531 --> 00:22:05,241
I mean, me too. (CHUCKLES)
490
00:22:05,450 --> 00:22:08,286
(INDIE MUSIC PLAYING)
491
00:22:08,536 --> 00:22:11,122
CLARE: What if we never met?
Like, who would I be friends with?
492
00:22:11,331 --> 00:22:14,125
We hung out with each other so much, like,
what would I have done on Saturday nights,
493
00:22:14,250 --> 00:22:15,794
-like, I don't know!
-No, I think...
494
00:22:15,877 --> 00:22:17,921
-I would've just been alone.
-I think I honestly would've been
495
00:22:18,004 --> 00:22:20,298
-a completely different person
-No, me too.
496
00:22:20,382 --> 00:22:21,508
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
497
00:22:21,674 --> 00:22:23,927
SINGER: So right
498
00:22:29,140 --> 00:22:32,769
So right
499
00:22:33,561 --> 00:22:35,772
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
500
00:22:38,691 --> 00:22:42,445
SINGER: So right
501
00:23:04,467 --> 00:23:07,595
We don't have to read the Bible
502
00:23:08,596 --> 00:23:12,183
You taught me everything that I know
503
00:23:13,351 --> 00:23:16,146
It's a hard pill to swallow
504
00:23:17,856 --> 00:23:21,651
When you're running in a circle
505
00:23:23,528 --> 00:23:27,157
So right
506
00:23:31,661 --> 00:23:33,037
(MUSIC ENDS)