A Mother's Day Submission

We're still recovering from our epic Lao New year Dinner Pop-up with our friends #IEatLaoFood. And we did take Sunday off to honor our moms for Mother's Day. However we couldn't let this next submission slip by without highlighting a few great points about it: This was sent in by Derick Sananikone, who interviewed his grandmother Sengthong. The picture on the left shows a young Sengthong cutting hair while wearing a traditional sinh, and the photo on the right shows her now, sitting in the same salon she opened less than 30 years ago.

"I came from Laos with my family back in 1981. I already had the skill of being a hairstylist back in Laos, so my older brother, who had been in America before me, was spreading the news of my talent throughout the Lao community here. Once my family and I landed in Philadelphia, with the sound of the airplane's engine still buzzing in my head, I was dragged into the house to cut everyone's hair. They paid me $10 each, which was a lot back in those days!"

To read the rest of Sengthong's story, check out other stories, or to share your own visit our Submissions Page here.