Visionary 888

At 14, I became a Brandy Melville worker. If that term holds any negative connotation to you, I won’t try to change that, nor am I in a place to debunk that assumption. All that I can do without crossing a line is to share my own truths.

At a first glance, people can assume that I’m a bitch, if I put it lightly – and I can’t blame them, given the reputation that Brandy workers have developed throughout the years. White, skinny, gorgeous enough to be on the cover of Vogue, and outrageously rude were all descriptors that fit the stereotype, categorizing all workers to be one and the same. I barely fit into any of these descriptions, but that does not mean that I didn’t also become subject to the single umbrella term used for all employees; a bitch. I can’t speak for all Brandy workers when touching on the topic I’m about to discuss, but I know that I speak for a vast majority, and hopefully I can one day inspire another to speak up as well.

While being a Brandy worker, there will always be an attached assumption that I’m popular, socially outgoing, a clique-minded thinker, and always in search of attraction. While all these assumptions often rub me the wrong way, the only one that I truly grapple with is the last. When gaining all these labels, an evident downside is found – men treated us like prey.

Back when I was first hired, I was fresh out of middle school; I had no intention of finding a love interest at work, nor did I want one. Instead, I remained disillusioned by the newfound status and social benefits I had from being labeled as Brandy worker. My first encounter with predatory behavior came when my coworker had told me that men of all ages often came into the store for the sole purpose of finding a girl to admire or hit on. It didn’t bother me much at the time, but I soon came to find out that it would be just the preface of a much longer story.

I had heard stories of these men going further and taking action to cause discomfort to my other coworkers, but I never imagined it happening to me – for what ever reason, I felt a sense of immunity. That thought was disproved when I was maintaining the tables one day, and I saw a flash from the corner of my eye; I turned to see four middle-aged men photographing me in broad daylight.

I brushed it off and waited it out in the back until my lunch break, where I found a booth at a nearby restaurant, only to discover that they had followed me. I continued to sit there as they took more photos with their flashes on, and while I was disappointed in myself for not having the courage to take action, I was enraged that the adults around me did nothing as they continued to strip me of my idealistic views.

They eventually left on their own, but that didn’t mean that those photos were wiped, nor does it mean that it made my feel any better about myself. To this day, I still have no idea where the photos that the grown men took of me are now, and I have no way of locating them. I constantly have to remind myself that I was still 14 – and it was all just so confusing for a little girl to figure out on her own.

This was not the last time something like this occurred throughout my time at Brandy, but rather just the beginning of many, and this was far from the worst. Over time, I eventually grew numb to the predatory behavior. And to really put it into perspective, here are just a few instances:

1. A man in his 30’s sent his sister to talk to me and ask about any personal details that might help him find my sensitive information on the internet.
2. A group of boys cornered me into a fitting room and asked me questions about my appearance and interests in dating.
3. One man asked me to give him advice about his purchases inside his fitting room while he was unclothed.
4. I’ve had the mall security on speed dial for 3 years after my coworker was followed into her car by a man past midnight.

And as the list went on, I only felt nothing. I eventually came to recognize that these scenarios are not normal, and most definitely should not be normalized.

This is why I created Visionary888. My mission is to help others gain the confidence and support they need to also speak up for themselves. And in the future, if I can just help one more girl avoid living my past, it all will have been worth it.

So, in short, I am not a bitch. I value my morals. I value my mind. I value my heart. On top of it all, I have trust in myself that I will never give up the fight to hopefully inspire another little girl out there to choose a path that will bring her the most fulfilling future possible. This is why I share my story.