Gray Hair

It hardly seems fair that I have to color my hair to cover the gray. I used to color it just because I was trying to darken it and stop the red highlights from showing....they show through anyway. Now I realize there is a whole lot of gray hairs coming in. When did that happen? Should I let it grow in or should I continue to color? I don't feel old enough to be gray. Will it make me look a lot older? Should I do this gracefully or go into grayness kicking and screaming all the way?