Parting ways with Miss Clairol

To dye or not to dye?  I remember finding my first gray hair at an early age...17 to be exact!  I would find them here or there, but it never got to the point of "needing" to dye until about ten years ago.  I went to salons for the first few years, but as the kids got older and more expensive, I could not afford salon visits for color.  I began coloring at home.  I didn't  mind it at first, but after awhile I noticed the color wasn't lasting as long as it used to.  The gray was more difficult to cover.  I was tired of the mess and the smell as well.  A few months into my healthy lifestyle change, I started thinking about letting my hair go gray.  I'd then push it to the back of my mind and think to myself, "maybe when I'm older".  Every few days, I'd find myself thinking about it and eventually looked online for some information.  I found the "Going Gray Looking Great" site.  I loved reading all the bios and looking at the pictures of women who had transitioned and let their silver shine!  I was still nervous about the thought and would even minimize the screen if anyone walked into the computer room while I was on the GGLG site...lol!  Last Feb., I looked in the mirror and saw the changes in my body as the weight came off.  I then looked at my hair...shoulder length, dyed black, dry mess...and thought, "what the hell?!"  Let's make this a total body change! I began chatting with several of the women on the GGLG site and became friends with a lot of them on Facebook.  It's been so nice to have encouragement along the way.  I have become very close to some of those women and am proud to call them my friends.  In April I decided to cut my hair short.  As of last summer, all the dye had been cut out and I was left with a salt and pepper spiky do! I love the ease of not coloring my hair anymore and I love how easy my cut is.  I get a lot of compliments on both the cut and color.  I had a young teenager ask me if I color my hair this way.  I smiled and said no...that it was natural.  She told me how nice it looked.  I then had three different 20'ish year old guys ( within a couple weeks time ) tell me that they loved my hair and how cool it looked.  Two of these guys had gauged ears and one had spiky hair as well.  I guess those of us who go against the "norm" of society have to stick together...ha ha!  I thought I may look or feel old with my gray hair, but I feel the exact opposite.  I feel like a new person and it's been for the best...=)