I am a 19 year old who’s dating a 17 year old. That’s a two year age difference, which, in the grand scheme of things, is not that big of a deal or that abnormal. But I still get negative comments about it from people in my life.

None of the comments are directly related to the two year age difference. I don’t get these comments because I am two years older than my boyfriend. I get these comments because he is 17. I have friends who anytime I talk about him make comments and jokes about how he’s a kid, he’s a baby, he’s just so young. He’s not young, he’s 17. He’s almost an adult, and your jokes about how he isn’t won’t keep me from dating him.

What these jokes boil down to is a disrespect for my relationship. It’s my friends not caring that this is someone who I love, who I could see myself spending my life with. They see him as someone who will eventually not be part of my life, because he’s still a high schooler. And I’m supposed to sit back and let them do this, because it’s just a joke and I’m being too sensitive. Maybe if the joke was made once, but if anytime I mention my boyfriend you find a way to comment on his age and make fun of me for dating him, I’m not being too sensitive.

I am not going to put up with subtle digs at my relationship anymore. It’s not fun, it’s not funny, and it’s not something an actual friend would do. I won’t be dealing with it anymore.