Chelsea's Story

I once met a unicorn.

Well, at least a girl dressed like one. I mean, she was actually covered head to toe in a bright blue fairy-horse costume. I stared in bewilderment as she hopped down from some hunk’s shoulders, pranced over to me, and said as if it was the most normal statement in the world– “Hi, I’m Tabitha. I’m a Unicorn.” Immediately, I knew I’d like this girl.

I met Tabitha Neudorf in October 2013 at a music festival in Seattle called Freaknight. Four months later, she is one of my closest friends, and half the reason this blog is in existence. To tell you more about who we are and why we’re doing this, we thought it’s important to start with how we even came to know each other. Because, it’s a pretty cool story, if we do say so ourselves.

The story of Chelsea and Tabitha actually starts in September 2013 with Chelsea, sans Tabitha. More specifically, Chelsea without a clue. I was at TomorrowWorld in Chatahoochee Hills, GA, when my phone was swiftly stolen from my crossbody. Scrambling to find it, I lost everyone I was with. I spent over an hour aimlessly searching for my phone and my friends. Trying to regain sobriety, panic set in as I realized I had no means of contacting anyone, I was 45 minutes away from civilization in a fucking field, and I had no way to get back.

Enter Roger and Alex—two guys from Vancouver, who I ran into—literally. I think it was an initial combination of pity and comedy for which they took me in, but by the end of the next set we were a bona fide trio. Suddenly, I had completely forgotten about why I had been upset in the first place. I never had such a great time at a festival as I did with two strangers who instantly became awesome friends— I’ll always have them to thank for that.

As crazy as it was, I felt something unique for Roger, and as I was leaving that night, we were hit with the very real possibility we may never see, or hear, from each other again. I live in New York, he on the other side of North America. With my phone stolen, what number could I give? My Facebook was private, and I didn’t trust myself to remember his phone number or full name. Then it was like fate intervened…because in my small crossbody I found a pen and an old receipt (I mean, really, who keeps receipts anymore?) He wrote down his contact information and I messaged him the next day.

A month later, I was on a plane headed west to Seattle to see Roger and Alex again for Freaknight. I’m not entirely sure what was going through my head when I decided to fly across the country to spend a weekend with someone I met for a day….Sometimes I really question my life decisions, and I guess I’m lucky that 9 times out of 10 it works out.

It ended up being one of the most memorable weekends of my life. Tabitha was one of Roger and Alex’s mutual friends. Meeting Tabitha was like meeting a long lost soul sister, and I fell into place so easily with the whole Canadian crew who I now call my Rave Family.

That’s what is so amazing about dance music and the culture of people around it-love for electronic music allows you to bypass so many other steps that come with getting to know someone. It was as if we were reuniting as old friends instead of essentially meeting for the first time. is whole thing just kept spiraling.

Since then, I have made two other trips to Seattle and Vancouver. Tabitha and I found a connection in each other that supercedes the ability to explain in words. Together, we are going to Winter Music Conference, EDMBiz, and countless festivals to push ourselves as artists and women in the industry.

To this day, we wonder, what if I never found that pen and small, crumpled piece of paper in my purse at TomorrowWorld? I would have never talked with Roger or Alex again. By extension, I would have never flown to Seattle to meet Tabitha, who has inspired and given purpose to pursuing my dreams. It’s so crazy to think one of the greatest domino effects of my life would have never happened without such a small, seemingly insignificant detail such as an old receipt.

If there are two things I’ve learned from all this, it’s that there is no such things is coincidence, and you should put yourself out there, even in the midst of uncomfortable situations, because then life opens in the most beautiful ways and introduces you to the most amazing people when you do. My friendship with Tabitha, the existence of this blog, is testament to what can only be described as fate– fate that which intricately weaves the fabric of our lives into stories that inspire, give hope, and push us forward into the beautiful mysteries of our future.

#ravefamily #tomorrowworld #edm #love