Glamour Photography

Interview Transcript

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

Why don't you start out by telling me who you are, where you're from, how old you are now, and what you do for a living?

Tresa:

I'm Tresa. I'm 52 years old and I currently live in Pennsylvania. I was born in Queens, New York, and I was raised in New Jersey. Shortly after graduating from college, I moved to Maryland and stayed there for about two and a half decades before getting married for the second time and moving to Pennsylvania. I am an attorney and a nurse by training. I currently work in medical malpractice law.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

Tell us the name of your law firm in case anyone needs an attorney.

Tresa:

Drakeford Law

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

You and I originally met a few years ago when I did headshots through the Bar Association of Montgomery County, but I did not know that you were also a registered nurse until today. I'm so impressed because I've never met an attorney who is also a nurse. So you're very accomplished.

Do you think that your values have changed as you've gotten older? What do you value now as opposed to when you were younger?

Tresa:

I think I value time a lot more now. I also value not just relationships, but the experience that you have in those relationships and how they can carry on, and how another individual has made an impact on your life. Also, just as important is the impact that you make on the lives of others.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

Is there anything specific that's happened in your life that's made you come to realize that, or do you think it has just happened slowly over time?

Tresa:

Age certainly has something to do with it. I'm also an 11-year breast cancer survivor. So, having gone through breast cancer, surgeries, and many, many years of treatment, I think that I've been able to sit for a moment and recognize what's really important.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

You know, I'm a five-year breast cancer survivor. I just went off my five years of medication. I went to ask for a refill and they said it'd been five years, and I didn’t have to take it anymore.

Tresa:

Congratulations! I took it for about eight years.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

So I imagine having cancer was a significant point in your life. Have there been other significant points of change in your life? How have they changed you?

Tresa:

Giving birth to a set of twins really helped me learn how to manage my time and also recognize that at that point in my life, my time wasn't my own.

Another significant event in my life was not just my divorce, but also getting married for a second time. I think I've probably done more traveling, in the short time that I've been married to my current husband, than I think I've done my entire life. 

At this age, traveling is not about the resort lifestyle, if you will, it's more about learning about the different cultures and really learning to appreciate those cultures.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

What have been some of your favorite cultures to visit and get to learn about?

Tresa:

I have to say my favorite place so far that I've been to visit has been Dubai. I enjoyed Dubai as part of my husband's deployment. My least favorite place to be honest with you was Kuwait. I did not like Kuwait at all.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

You didn't live there?

Tresa:

 I did not. I just went to visit him while he was deployed there.

Sedona in Arizona is another beautiful place with a lot of natural landscaping and beauty.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

Where are you looking forward to going when the pandemic is over?

Tresa:

Oh, my gosh. I'd be happy to go to a small island or the Caribbean. 

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

So you mentioned twins. So how many kids do you have?

Tresa:

I have three biological children and I have four bonus children! They're my stepchildren. I have a 25-year-old daughter, and then I have 22-year-old twins. So if you take that back a couple of decades, you can imagine what my house was like, with the three-year-old and two newborns running around. My bonus children are ages 18,24, 28, and 31.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

How long have you been married now?

Tresa:

 I've been married for five years.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

Well, having lots of experience as a mom, what advice would you give to yourself when you were a young mother looking back?

Tresa:

Take time for yourself. Really nourish yourself, whether it's physically or emotionally. Make sure that you make time for your girlfriend type of things to do. Even if it's just an opportunity to commit to meeting up with a girlfriend for a cup of coffee or for lunch. That is certainly very important. Nourish your own soul, if you will.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

I think that's something women, especially moms, aren't very good at doing.

When do you think, in your life, you felt the most attractive, and have your perceptions of what being attractive means changed over time?

Tresa:

Yes, I think it has changed. What I perceived as attractive before was always the physical sense. When did your hair look the best? When was your skin looking the best? Recently, when I looked back at different pictures of myself, I think it's the smile  in my photos that speak to the joy of what I was experiencing. To me, that makes a big difference. I think that speaks to beauty.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

You're 52. Are there any myths that you would like to bust about the over 50s?

Tresa:

When you hear your children talk about someone and you ask them to describe them, they say, "Oh, yeah. Well, they're old. They're like, 30." Oh, my gosh!

People think that when you reach 50, you are really getting ready for retirement. What I didn't realize is that there are more people than not that are not necessarily looking to retire, but looking to just leave their lifelong jobs for a new phase in their life.

Growing up, you're thinking, "Oh, by that point, people aren't doing anything. Just sitting around watching TV... going to McDonald's or something for coffee." In reality, life comes in stages. So people are beginning to think about the next stages in life. 

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

Do you think that people who are 50+ are represented well in advertising? 

Tresa:

I have to say no. Many of the people that I see and that we're led to believe are in their 50s don't look like any of the 50-year-old people that I know. They look much older. So I think that doesn't speak well, because a lot of times when you think of a grandmother or when you think of somebody in their 50s, you don't really think of someone that's youthful.

Irene (Glamour Photographer):

Well, what made you decide to participate in the 50 over 50 and Fabulous project?

Tresa:

I think it was an opportunity to be part of a collective representing women at various stages of their life.

50+ could mean 55; it could mean 70. I think it's great to be a part of a diverse group. Of course, I also like the idea of being able to take pictures. That's the fun side of it.

Irene (Beauty Photographer):

Well, we've finished your styling concept consultation, and we've got your photography session scheduled.  At this moment in time, what are you most excited about with regards to the project?

Tresa:

Honestly, the finished project. I'm looking forward to getting my makeup done and actually going out and having the photography session, and then obviously much later on, being able to get a glimpse of the exhibit.