I've only been nineteen for nine days, but I've been struggling with the infamous and despicable "baby face" for my whole life. Thanks to my natural chubby cheeks and my short legs that only lift me to reach sixty-two inches off the ground, people usually don't see me as a day over sixteen. Max. Here are nineteen struggles that only those with baby face will understand, especially at the age of nineteen.

1. Middle schoolers still hit on you.

Nothing boosts the ego more than when someone hits on you who's a good six to seven years younger than you are.

2. People don't believe you when you tell them your age.

Other people: "How old are you?"

Me: "I just turned 19."

Other people:

Me: *sigh*

3. People ask which high school you go to instead of which college.

Other people: "So, what high school do you go to?"

Me: "Oh, actually, I just started at ETSU this fall…"

Other people:

4. People your own age call you adorable.

I know that there are no ill intentions when people my own age call me "adorable" or "so cute and little", but it's just another reminder that I look a good four years younger than I actually am. I am a grown-up too, dang it! *throws temper tantrum*

5. Nobody takes you seriously when you're mad.

Me when people say they can't take me seriously when I'm angry because "it's the equivalent of a puppy being angry" or because I'm "so cute when I'm mad."

6. Chubby cheeks

You see all these people with their well-defined jawlines and hollow cheekbones and meanwhile you're just sitting their looking like this:

7. Your parents still treat you like a kid.

I know, I know. Some parents have the tendency to treat their nineteen-year-olds like kids even if they do look nineteen. But trust me, having a baby face does NOT help in the matter, especially when you still haven't lost those chubby cheeks that parents love to squeeze and coo over.

8. You don't fit in with your friends.

When people see you out and about with your other nineteen-year-old pals, you don't really fit in. Instead, you look more like their babysitting kid that they decided to let tag along.

9. "Aren't you a little too young to be working?"

Actually, no. I have bills and gas expenses and a college tuition to pay for.

10. "Aren't you too young to be driving already?"

It's always a kick when you're stopped at a red-light, and the person in the car to your left looks over at you, and then has to do a double-take because they think they've just spotted an infant behind the wheel of a car.

11. People coddle/shelter you.

For some reason, just because someone looks younger, that somehow means that they are more fragile-minded or more innocent than everyone else. So, a lot of times, we who are cursed with baby face are left out of inside jokes that may be "too crude" for us, or people withhold information from us because it would be "too much for us to handle." Don't be mistaken -- we're tough too.

12. "But you'll be thankful when you're older!"

If I had a dime for every time I've heard that one.

13. If you're a girl, you look 12 without makeup.

And you look maybe 13 with it.

14. If you're a guy, you look 12 without a beard.

15. "You're so mature for your age."

Thanks, but actually I just have the same maturity as any other nineteen-year-old because I am nineteen.

16. You get carded just when going to an R-rated movie.

Ticket booth guy: "Sorry ma'am, you'll need an adult of age 18 or older to accompany you if you want to see this film."

Me: "I am an adult of age 18 or older. I'm 19."

Ticket booth guy: "Ma'am, do you mind if I see some I.D.?"

Me:

17. People think you're the younger sibling.

I have a younger brother who is sixteen, and anyone who doesn't know us personally initially thinks that I am his younger sister.

18. Or whenever you go out with your little kid siblings and people ask, "where are your parents?!"

No, we are not a bunch of unattended children. I am their adult older sibling. We're fine.

19. Everybody will be so jealous when you're 40.

Trust me, I know it sucks now, but there is hope for us baby-facers. When all of our friends are forty and starting to wrinkle and age, we'll most likely still look twenty and hot. Be proud of who you are, chubby cheeks and all, and know that you are fabulous.