Several weeks ago I went to get pedicures with my mom. As we sat down in our chairs to start, my mom’s manicurist looked over at me and asked her if I was her daughter. Once my mom told her I was, the manicurist then asked me how old I was. “I’m 20,” I answered.
“20?” she exclaimed. “Wow, I thought you were 16.” Not knowing how to respond to her, I sheepishly laughed and said: “Yeah it happens all the time.” And boy does it.
I’ve always looked young for my age; a combination of having a petite frame and a baby face has always fooled strangers into thinking I’m at least three or four years younger than I actually am. Every time someone misjudges my age I get annoyed and bitter. No 20 year-old wants to be told he or she could pass for an early high schooler.
Many people around my age strive to look older and more mature than they actually are, probably for psychological or sociological reasons I’m unversed in. In high school (especially the first few years), many girls, myself included, caked our eyes with eyeliner and mascara and wore push-up bras to give the illusion that we were 16 or 17, when we were really 14 or 15. We didn’t want to look like young girls, we wanted to look like experienced teenagers. Entering high school and being at the back end of puberty unleashes the desire in most adolescents to grow up and look and behave in a more mature manner. Disney Channel was suddenly not cool to watch anymore and "Gossip Girl" was, shopping now included looking for heels and make-up, and you had to get your bras at Victoria’s Secret. I was guilty of all these superficial changes (except I never watched "Gossip Girl"), striving to look older than I actually was.
When I see 14 and 15 year-old girls today, it is obvious that I wasn’t successful in fooling anyone. Most adolescent girls look adolescent no matter how hard they try. They just look like young high schoolers or late middle schoolers who wear excessive eye makeup. My last two years of high school I stopped wearing makeup regularly, which honestly didn’t make any difference in how old or young I looked. I was either going to look like a teenager trying to look 21, or I was just going to look like a teenager. By the time I was 17 I still wasn’t deceiving anyone. One time at the end of 12th grade, my senioritis compelled me to leave school in the middle of the day. I went to the main office to sign myself out so I wouldn’t be marked for cutting class. Upon telling the lady in the office I’d like to sign myself out, she said: “Oh I’m sorry, only seniors can sign themselves out.” She refused to believe me when I told her I was a senior, and was convinced that I was a freshman instead. It wasn’t until I showed her my school ID and she saw that I was 17 that I was allowed to sign out.
One of the only times I can recall where I was thought to be older was at my cousin’s wedding, also during my senior year of high school. My low-cut dress and my hair and make-up tricked one of the drunken groomsmen into offering to get me a drink. After declining and telling him my age, I received this comment: “Oh shit! You look 20-something.” While the groomsman’s friend was teasing him for hitting on a high schooler, I (shamefully) felt the strongest sensation of pride and empowerment I had ever felt before. Despite the groomsman’s lack of good intentions, I felt proud in that I looked old enough to attract a man in his late 20s. But mainly, I was happy that I appeared older.
Today I’m 20 years old and a junior in college, and get mistaken for being a freshman daily. Several people tell me I’ll be thankful for my youthful appearance one day, like when I’m 40 and look 30, but for now I’ll continue to be uncomfortable any time someone misjudges my age. The one difference now is that I simply want to look my age. I don’t feel the need to look 22 or 23, but I’d love to stop being mistaken for a girl who’s not even old enough to have a driver’s license. I’ll most definitely get carded when I go to a bar or a club on my 21st birthday, and I can’t wait to give the bouncer my ID and see his face when he realizes I’m really 21. I’ll look like someone who’s a few months away from going to prom, but I’ll really be a young woman who’s about buy her first drink as a legal adult.
