Children are known for their wild and boundless imaginations. Being an airplane is as simple as sticking out their arms and speeding across the room. Being a mother is as easy as picking up a little doll and taking care of it. But, after a time, that drive to think outside the box disappears.
A new cosmetology program in Gainesville, Georgia, hopes to keep that creative spark alive in young girls. The program, called “Funtology,” teaches the basic of cosmetology so that young girls can take care of their own hair and nails, in addition to focusing on specific sciences like chemistry and anatomy.
The mission statement of the program, founded by TeQuilla Williams, is “to bridge the gap from the Barbie doll over to the beauty doll.” “Their creative side is taken away from them or they are told you can no longer play with the dolls,” Williams explained. “But what they were doing was taking away that creative ability, that art side of them, or that side of them that helps them to actually connect to the world.”
The program operates out of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County in Gainesville and hosts more than 24 young girls in the program.
When students complete the program, there is a ceremony where each student is handed a certificate, hosted in the Gainesville Civic Center. Along with the ceremony, graduated students will attend the Healing Strands Continuing Education Workshop, a new event in Gainesville to help professionals earn their continuing education credits. This gives students a chance to observe professionals at work and ask questions.
Attending events like this goes a long way towards keeping the creative fire alive in teenagers, and provides the additional benefit of testing out a field of study and watching good role models in action.