Whitney Foley, owner and creator of Too Legit to Quit, danced into her Sisterhood Sunday event to “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé with a group of around 30 teenage girls watching her, ready for an inspiring day.

Sisterhood Sunday was an event hosted Jan. 12 by Too Legit to Quit, a personal development coaching organization. The event, targeted to teen girls, offered a few workshops to help young girls build their confidence in a safe and welcoming environment. 

Whitney Foley, owner and creator of Too Legit to Quit, has always had a passion for helping people. Her desire to help people led her to creating this organization and planning this event.

“Teenage years are some of the toughest, and I think they’re an under-served market,” she said. “So, I wanted to do something about it.”

According to the organization’s website, the event included music, snacks, workshops and a “powerful message” from guest speaker Nicole Hague.

Hague, who is originally from Boston, shared stories about her rough childhood, three run-ins with cancer and her struggle with self-confidence. Her overall message throughout her speech was that all of the dark, rough experiences in her life led to some of her happiest and proudest moments.

“You’ll never be able to control everything that happens in your life, but you can always choose how you react,” Hague said. 

Hague said she was trying to think of what she wishes she had been told when she was younger. In sharing her life experiences, she aimed to give these girls hope and perspective to keep fighting and believing in themselves. 

According to Anaya Hines, a 15-year-old guest, Hague’s speech was interesting and inspirational. The biggest message she got from her stories was that everything happens for a reason. 

After Hague’s speech, the girls separated into prearranged groups to start the workshops. There were three workshops the girls got the chance to visit — the “I Am” Board workshop, Interactive Connection workshop and the Kindness workshop.  

The “I Am” Board workshop was about choosing powerful and inspiring description words the girls got to pick for themselves. Then, they would glue them to a small board and put them in a picture frame. At the Interactive Connection workshop, girls were asked a wide variety of questions, ranging from talking about what fires them up to what scares them the most. Foley said this workshop helps the girls relate to each other.

Seventh-grader Gabriella Rapetti, who enjoyed having the chance to meet and interact with new people, said this was her favorite workshop.  

The Kindness Workshop allowed the girls to create a calendar with a kind deed written on every box. This workshop continues even after the event is over, since girls will have the calendar to remind them to be kind everyday. 

According to Hague, the girls were engaged in the activities and opened up over the course of the event. She really enjoyed watching the shift in energy from the beginning, where they were all timid, to the end where they were laughing and making friends. 

“It was amazing,” Foley said. “You never know how things like this are going to go — especially when you have so many different walks of life and ages and backgrounds under one roof — but really it was magical.”