The Gifted Girls
Title
The Gifted Girls
Creator
Melanie Velar
Date
10/03/2022
Text
The evolution of hair began as early as in 1863, and who would’ve ever thought that it would have such a big effect on woman as early as in their teenage years. As I grew older, I came into Palmetto Middle School, and I stood near standards in society I never thought to see at such a young age. I was surrounded next to girls who were known to be “gifted girls,” everything they had was perfect, from what I could see. They had straight blonde hair, cool trendy back packs, and shoes that costed more than I could ever afford. As I grew up in a home thirty minutes from the school, I wasn’t so used to what was around this place known as Pinecrest. The students in Pinecrest would always be in luxury cars or going out to eat with their friends after school at the nicest restaurants I couldn’t even name. My lifestyle was different, and I needed an outlier to bring me into this life I thought was perfect for a girl in her teenage years.
Living far from school, cramming little pickup time, and studying all day was my middle school era. I wasn’t like the other girls who went to every party and got the easy way into life. I had a line, and my line was not to be drawn with the luxury items I saw as gold at the time. The easiest way I thought of making friends was by blending in with the other girls being someone I wasn’t. The first step I imagined was changing my hair to something unnatural, something most of the other girls had, straight hair. Luckily, I grew up in hair salons all around Miami and it was my sister’s goal in life to possibly own one eventually. Surprisingly, I was there every step of the way. The first hair salon I visited to change my image was known as Grande Hair Salon. It had older costumers and plenty of talented stylist who made all hair dreams come true.
My hair was an insecurity I wanted to get rid of fast, the wavy hair was not the trend roaming around my school, and I knew this salon would change that for me. The moment I arrived it felt like home, I was surrounded in a place with no judgment or standards at all. It was different, something I never felt before. I told my stylist exactly what I wanted, and she made my visuals come to life. She gave me what is known to be a Keratin Treatment, it would keep my hair straight as possible for up to three months. It was an automatic yes for me and it finally was a way to clear one of my so – called “problems.” The treatment was a two-hour process, and it left my hair feeling sleek and new. After the appointment I went home and could not wait to show off my new look at school the next day. As the next school day rung around, I walked in filled with confidence, and I was convinced all the compliments would roll in automatically. I thought the girls would be nicer now that I looked like them, yet they were even more mean and not welcoming at all. It was at this moment I knew these three years of middle school would never change, their bubble will constantly stay shut and all the other girls would be outsiders in their own little world.
My visits at the salon never stopped, every three months I would go in and get the same treatment repeatedly. It was always easy access for me since my sister played a big role in this salon. I could come in at any time; it was slowly becoming my place of comfort, and it was teaching me to be kind to myself. Here at Grande Hair Salon is where I realized, the gifted girls are no different than me. We both went to the same school, had the same education, and were surrounded with different culture every day. Since I was only attending school at the time, I knew I needed an escape to learn more about the real world. I needed to have hope that better people existed, and I wanted to learn more at Grande Hair Salon. I was only fifteen at the time and I was too young to work, so we pretended. I would go in on Saturdays and sweep the floor for fun, I would hold conversations with the stylists, and I would make the fifty dollars in cash. As my bond with the stylist grew, I never imagined the news I was going to hear from my sister as she wanted to part her ways from this workspace.
It was time, Michelle (my sister) wanted to create her own home, she wanted a fresh beginning and started building her own company. As she took advice from Grande Hair Salon, she created a new atmosphere that eventually was going to be called Blunt Blonde Hair Salon. Once I heard of this new chapter, I knew this is where I would make a mark. I finally would be old enough and here is where I hoped my perspective on society would shift. It slowly began in late stages of middle school, as I came through the battles of having little friends, and not blending in I knew being a part of this new journey would make me happy just the way I am. I wanted to create my mark and I asked to lend a helping hand in my sister’s company.
Finally, the day came, shortly after I began high school where she knew I could possibly help. Since I was seventeen now, my form of help was through Blunt Blonde’s social media page, and the managing assets of the newly growing atmosphere. As the salon grew daily, I was able to interact with people who were diverse in culture and looks. Spending a lot of time in this new place of gratitude really showed me that there was hope in humanity and that I never had to look a certain way to be a part of a friend group. It will never matter to me again; I would always do what I loved for myself and less for others. After I kept working at Blunt blonde, I stopped doing Keratin treatments, I learned how to style my natural hair and I felt more like me. Middle school didn’t teach me how to grow, and the gifted girls will never know how they made the outsiders feel. The story to our insecurities are wider than just hair, but in my life this was the one insecurity I knew I had a chance of changing, yet I wish I never did, it was never worth it. I finally found my place away from the gifted girls. Blunt Blonde was a home away from home, they accepted me for who I am and gave me a chance to be a part of their wholesome team. The team kept growing in diversity with girls from pink hair to red hair, and from long hair to short hair. I learned to love who I was as a person in this environment, and I no longer thought “What would the gifted girls think.”
Living far from school, cramming little pickup time, and studying all day was my middle school era. I wasn’t like the other girls who went to every party and got the easy way into life. I had a line, and my line was not to be drawn with the luxury items I saw as gold at the time. The easiest way I thought of making friends was by blending in with the other girls being someone I wasn’t. The first step I imagined was changing my hair to something unnatural, something most of the other girls had, straight hair. Luckily, I grew up in hair salons all around Miami and it was my sister’s goal in life to possibly own one eventually. Surprisingly, I was there every step of the way. The first hair salon I visited to change my image was known as Grande Hair Salon. It had older costumers and plenty of talented stylist who made all hair dreams come true.
My hair was an insecurity I wanted to get rid of fast, the wavy hair was not the trend roaming around my school, and I knew this salon would change that for me. The moment I arrived it felt like home, I was surrounded in a place with no judgment or standards at all. It was different, something I never felt before. I told my stylist exactly what I wanted, and she made my visuals come to life. She gave me what is known to be a Keratin Treatment, it would keep my hair straight as possible for up to three months. It was an automatic yes for me and it finally was a way to clear one of my so – called “problems.” The treatment was a two-hour process, and it left my hair feeling sleek and new. After the appointment I went home and could not wait to show off my new look at school the next day. As the next school day rung around, I walked in filled with confidence, and I was convinced all the compliments would roll in automatically. I thought the girls would be nicer now that I looked like them, yet they were even more mean and not welcoming at all. It was at this moment I knew these three years of middle school would never change, their bubble will constantly stay shut and all the other girls would be outsiders in their own little world.
My visits at the salon never stopped, every three months I would go in and get the same treatment repeatedly. It was always easy access for me since my sister played a big role in this salon. I could come in at any time; it was slowly becoming my place of comfort, and it was teaching me to be kind to myself. Here at Grande Hair Salon is where I realized, the gifted girls are no different than me. We both went to the same school, had the same education, and were surrounded with different culture every day. Since I was only attending school at the time, I knew I needed an escape to learn more about the real world. I needed to have hope that better people existed, and I wanted to learn more at Grande Hair Salon. I was only fifteen at the time and I was too young to work, so we pretended. I would go in on Saturdays and sweep the floor for fun, I would hold conversations with the stylists, and I would make the fifty dollars in cash. As my bond with the stylist grew, I never imagined the news I was going to hear from my sister as she wanted to part her ways from this workspace.
It was time, Michelle (my sister) wanted to create her own home, she wanted a fresh beginning and started building her own company. As she took advice from Grande Hair Salon, she created a new atmosphere that eventually was going to be called Blunt Blonde Hair Salon. Once I heard of this new chapter, I knew this is where I would make a mark. I finally would be old enough and here is where I hoped my perspective on society would shift. It slowly began in late stages of middle school, as I came through the battles of having little friends, and not blending in I knew being a part of this new journey would make me happy just the way I am. I wanted to create my mark and I asked to lend a helping hand in my sister’s company.
Finally, the day came, shortly after I began high school where she knew I could possibly help. Since I was seventeen now, my form of help was through Blunt Blonde’s social media page, and the managing assets of the newly growing atmosphere. As the salon grew daily, I was able to interact with people who were diverse in culture and looks. Spending a lot of time in this new place of gratitude really showed me that there was hope in humanity and that I never had to look a certain way to be a part of a friend group. It will never matter to me again; I would always do what I loved for myself and less for others. After I kept working at Blunt blonde, I stopped doing Keratin treatments, I learned how to style my natural hair and I felt more like me. Middle school didn’t teach me how to grow, and the gifted girls will never know how they made the outsiders feel. The story to our insecurities are wider than just hair, but in my life this was the one insecurity I knew I had a chance of changing, yet I wish I never did, it was never worth it. I finally found my place away from the gifted girls. Blunt Blonde was a home away from home, they accepted me for who I am and gave me a chance to be a part of their wholesome team. The team kept growing in diversity with girls from pink hair to red hair, and from long hair to short hair. I learned to love who I was as a person in this environment, and I no longer thought “What would the gifted girls think.”
Collection
Citation
Melanie Velar, “The Gifted Girls,” Everything Speaks To Me , accessed September 18, 2026, https://everythingspeakstome.com/items/show/173.