Remember in the sixth grade when everyone looked the same age? The boys hadn’t gone through their growth spurts quite yet and the girls hadn’t completely fallen into the early teen stage. Everyone was on an even playing field. Well, imagine everyone around maturing through the years, and then there’s you, year after year, still looking 12 years old. Yeah, it sounds rough doesn’t it? Welcome to my world.
You know you have a baby face when ...
1. Going out is a nightmare.
Headed to the bars with friends? More like headed to the place where the bouncers don’t hesitate to ask for your ID, a second form of ID and then deny you anyway because you can’t be 21, you’re totally a high-schooler with a decent fake. Ahem, I waited 21 years for the real deal, let me in.
2. You have to ask for the regular menu.
“Hi sweetie, would you like a kids' menu?” As much as I wouldn’t mind coloring to pass the time before my food comes, no thanks ma’am. I would actually enjoy the wine menu (because I’m not a child). When dining with friends you can pull off 15 years old, but with parents? Forget it babe, people throw you back into the preteen years.
3. Dating is a nightmare.
When middle school boys start hitting on you, their voices are just as high as yours, and their egos so inflated that they think they can begin dating older girls, you kind of want to vomit. The sad thing is that they think you’re only two years older than them when you’re upwards of 10 years old. Yikes.
4. “You’re going to love this when you’re older.”
“You’ll look 20 at 40, it’s so worth it!” Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get that every time, but what about now? We’re told to live in the present, but the present says we look like our past? A little twisted isn’t it? Let me have the benefits now, please.
5. You are forever the intern.
No matter what age, what level of job or where you are, forget being considered a co-worker. You could hold a top position and people will mis-identify you as one of the interns. I mean if you look their age, that means it must be so, right?
6. You struggle between looking dressed up and like you’re playing dress up.
There’s a very thin line between looking dressed up and looking as if you’ve raided your big sister’s closet in hopes of looking older than you are. The “sexy” look will happen once in a blue moon, after days of planning and a perfect execution.
7. You’re “cute” when you’re mad.
That doesn’t make me any less relevant and it doesn’t mean that you should care any less about my feelings. If I’m mad, I’m mad, regardless of if I look cute or not. PLEASE JUST TAKE ME SERIOUSLY FOR ONCE.
8. You’re used to people being surprised.
Yes, I’m a junior in college, I can drive responsibly, I can even get into bars and R-rated movies. No, I’m not in eighth grade, I do not need parental supervision, and believe it or not, I don’t live at home anymore. Can you please pick up your jaw? It seems to have fallen to the ground.
9. You don’t know if you enjoy the adjectives or not.
Cute, precious, adorable ... you’ve heard them all. And even though it’s always wonderful to hear such nice things, you still wish you could have the more grown-up version.
10. You’ve accepted your fate.
You’ve made it this far as the baby-faced person that you are, and it’s helped you grow in new ways. You’ve accepted that you’re forever going to be the child of the friend group, even if you don’t like it. Embrace the baby face, because it’s here to stay. And maybe when we’re 40, we’ll actually be happy with it. A little wishful thinking can go a long way.
