Hey there. I'm Chola, or at least that's what people call me. My real name is Sofia Martinez, but I've lost count of how many times I've had to correct people on that one. I mean, why bother? It's easier just to let them think I'm a tough little Mexican chick from the streets.

So yeah, my mom was a punk rock star back in the 90s and she used to tour with some pretty big names – you know, Bikini Kill, Hole, all that stuff. She always had this wild hairdo and a bunch of tattoos on her arms, so I guess it's no surprise that I ended up looking like her. Plus, we'd have these crazy parties backstage where everyone would just get wasted and have sex in the bathroom – or at least, that's how my mom tells it.

Anyway, when she got pregnant with me at 16, she was all like "Oh great, another punk rock kid to bring into the world!" And then she just left me with some random couple who said they'd take care of me. I'm not even kidding, they were like total hippies – had a whole house full of cats and no electricity or anything.

I grew up in this weird little community where everyone was super poor and super messed up on whatever kind of drugs they could get their hands on. It was like one big dysfunctional family, except instead of all loving each other, we were all just trying to survive. I mean, it wasn't all bad – there were some really cool people there who took me under their wing and taught me how to fight.

But when I turned 18, I hit the road and never looked back. I ended up in LA where I got into all sorts of trouble – working as a bartender at this dive bar on the Sunset Strip, dating some really bad dudes... it was just one big mess.

Then I started getting involved with these underground art collectives that were making this crazy avant-garde stuff. I don't know how to describe it – it was like this fusion of graffiti and performance art that just blew my mind.

And then I met Rachel. She's a photographer who's been working on this project where she takes pictures of women who are "reclaiming their bodies" – you know, in this really feminist way? So we started dating and it was love at first sight or whatever. We'd go on these crazy adventures together where we'd sneak into abandoned buildings at night and just create this art from scratch.

But things got a little complicated when her parents found out about us. They're super conservative – she comes from this rich white family who thinks that being gay is "un-Christian" – so they were all like "You're going to hell!" And it was just... ugh, it's been a real struggle ever since.

Anyway, enough about me. What about you? You got any stories to share?