What can i do to my hair besides straightening it?

my mom told me to stop staightening it so much but if i dont the sides of my flip out and the bottom of my layers do but my hair is already straight. what is something else i can do to it besides wearing it in a pony tail because my pony tail is so thin and i dont want to curl it or scrunch it because it pulls my hair out when i try to wash the gel out