Terry
“I never thought in a million years that being confident in my own hair would inspire others to do the same. Additionally, I’m an example that a woman CAN look great with long hair or long gray hair at any age.”
Terry is an advocate and a self-acclaimed “long hair influencer”, utilising her Instagram platform @gray.and.beyond to normalise having long, grey hair. Her posts are uplifting and inspiring, encouraging her audiences to embrace their natural selves by growing out their hair. When she's not working to empower women everywhere, she may be found in her garden, pursuing her newest hobby. Terry is a natural adapter, having moved from Cambodia to the United States at an early age. She is someone who is fascinated by everything and is always up for a new adventure. Meet Terry. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
T: Hi, I’m Terry, and I was a refugee from Cambodia. The United States of America has been my home for a long time now. And I can say that I’m a proud citizen of this country.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
T: One of the defining moments in my adult life was when I stopped dyeing my hair. My journey began when I tuned out other people’s voices about gray hair and started listening to my own voice. Since October/November of 2014, my roots had never been dyed again.
I never thought in a million years that being confident in my own hair would inspire others to do the same. Additionally, I’m an example that a woman CAN look great with long hair or long gray hair at any age.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
T: What I like about myself is that I’m adaptable and rarely bored; I can usually find something interesting to do. My new adventure is gardening; this journey began in 2019. Being terrified of worms and caterpillars does not help with this hobby. It was tough in the beginning; each digging session filled with yelps at the sight of slithering and wiggling earthworms. But I didn’t let this fear prevent me from doing something I was passionate about; you can say that I have adapted myself to the environment and the yelps have gotten less frequent.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
T: In a positive way, gardening has helped me become closer to my father, who is an avid gardener. He has always been a great gardener, and a father who has raised strong and independent daughters; he advocated college education for all his children, and never made my sisters and me feel less than because we were women.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
T: Because of how my father treated my sisters and me, I always felt like I could do anything or be anything. But being an introvert and very self-conscious did not help my confidence growing up. So if I could give an advice to my younger self, I would tell her to talk more and be less self-conscious, plan better, and listen and follow her inner voice. And of course, listen to her mother more!
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
T: Mothers are so wise, aren’t they? My mom inspires me. How she was able to navigate and care for 4 young children in her 20s, during the Cambodia war, was amazing; she showed bravery, courage, charisma, and resilience. She is a phenomenal woman, the kind of woman written about in books.