My whole life I’ve looked younger than my age. I remember the first day of elementary school I was holding hands and walking with my mom, someone said to her, “Oh your little daughter is so cute and little! She’s entering Kindergarten?” I remember the day I turned 13, a true teenager, I was so happy and felt so cool and mature until a girl asked me, “How old did you turn today?” I said to her proudly, “Thirteen.” Then she said to me, “Oh I thought you were like 9.” Nine? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Maybe 12, heck I would even take 11 at this point but 9? A single digit? I remember feeling so embarrassed and hurt.
Well, little did I know it was only the beginning of endless comments as such. On my mission when my companion and I would knock on doors to proselyte and introduce us as the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more often than not the person would look at my companion and then me and say to me, “Are you old enough to be a missionary?”
The biggest shock was on P-day(one day a week the missionaries get a day to relax, do laundry, grocery shop and such) we would go to the library to e-mail our friends and family and we signed up on the waiting list for the computer. The librarian called my name so I went up and she looked at me and said, “You have to be 16 to use the computer, dear.” I looked at her and said, “I’m 22.” Then the lady and the other lady next to her looked at each other and laughed out loud! They thought I was joking. When I smiled back at them and told them I wasn’t joking, they looked surprised and had this conversation right in front of me:
Lady 1: “She cannot be 22 years old!”
Lady 2: “Yeah she looks like she’s about…”
Lady 1: “Hmm…she looks like she’s about… 12.”
TWELVE??? I told them you had to be at least 21 to be a missionary for girls and they STILL made me go back to my car to get my I.D! Only after they looked at my birthdate of my license did they believe me and let me use the computer.
Well, now that I’m married and I’m a mother of two kids, I thought it would stop. When I went to Korea last year and everybody was so shocked that I had two kids and would say, “A baby had a baby!”, or “I thought you were in High School!” Literally every single person I met, not kidding you. But I thought since people in Korea get married late and have kids later, that made sense.
Well, this year in the year 2010, I’ve already had 3 instances.
1. I got hit on by a boy who looked no older than 16 at my Orthodontics. Yeah, enough said.
2. Then a few weeks ago a mailman came knocking on our door. I opened the door and he looked at me and asked me if my parents were home. I told him I was the mother of the household and after a slight pause he then asked me, “Well, are you 16 or older? you have to be at least 16 to sign this.”
3. Then just today. This photographer asked me if she could use me to take High School senior pictures to promote her work.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I even asked Jay one time, “Do you look at me as a woman or a little girl?” haha. I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended? I want to look like a woman! Not a little girl! shesh.
I guess me dressing up as a HS cheerleader doesn’t help my image.
But I’m a mother of two kids, I swear!
haha that's funny! If it makes you feel any better, that sometimes happens to me too. One time, an old lady thought I was my eleven-year-old sister instead of the nineteen-year-old college student that I was.
that's so funny Sarah! I guess when you're 50, you'll only look like you're in your 30s…that'll be great…
sarah, this happens to me all the time too!! I was at Sonic getting a coke recently and the guy at the drive thru asked, "are you old enough to be driving?"
Haha i know how you feel. Trust me i get it alot, although i think for different reasons(my short-ness). I almost fought this 15 year old girl one time because of a comment she made at how old she thought i was. I guess i decided to be more mature than i looked and took the high road…..hehe! Thanks for the add, you are hillarious!
Yeah, I know how you feel too! People think I'm about 17 yrs. When I was in Hawaii canoeing with a club I was talking with my fellow riders, I said I was 24 and had two kids. They were blown away and thought I was 16 yrs. old. I know exactly what you mean about Korea, cause it's the same here in China. People are always first blown away that I have 2 kids, then they are very interested in how old I am. When I tell them they just laugh. Glad I have someone to relate with!
I know just how you feel! Once when I was in high school I went to pick up my sister at elementary…a teacher in the hallway told me to go back to school! Then when I went to Disneyland with my mom, sister and FIANCEE, they gave my sister and Jae the seat next to each other and me a kid's menu!!
I always thought it was because I was short…but maybe it's because we're Asian! I say it will all be worth it when we're 40 and finally look 20 😉
hahaha well we should create a club or something! I'm so glad you guys can relate! Thanks for sharing, those stories made me laugh!
I've got a story too-I work at BYU and so during One Stop once a really angry dad was complaining about something on his child's account to one of our student employees… then he asked to speak to someone who is "NOT a student"… so I walked over and he was like "YOU are in charge? What kind of place is this? Are there ANY adults around here?" LOL So then I got my co-worker (who's the same age as me) and he came over… the guy was so mad. LOL.
I think we'll all appreciate it when we get older-that's for sure.
I'm a nurse and my patients always ask me how old I am. The doctors ask to speak with a "more seasoned" nurse all the time.
When I was new to my current ward, my new calling was Beehive Advisor. My ward has combined mutual with another ward. When I went to the first mutual, a leader from the other ward came to me and said, "Hi, are you new? Who did you come with?" Implying that I'm a teenager. I told her I'm the new Beehive advisor.
It doesn't help that I have a girlish voice too. Just last week, my daughter's doctor's office called to remind me about her doctor's visit. She says, "Is your mom there? Can I talk to her?"
Get used to it. I used to get annoyed, too, but I'm nearing forty, and it hasn't stopped. Of course, these days the youngest I get is 29. But I'm OK with that. Most people think that my 18- and 16-year-old daughters are my sisters. (We have two sons and one more daughter after those two.)
I was thinking the very same thing about the cheerleading uniform, but it's quite fine to have a bit of fun! You and your husband just exude happiness and enthusiasm. You will bless your children with your youthfulness. Keep it up! And go give each of them a hug, just from a total stranger who thinks y'all are WAY adorable!
i think our asian genes make us look a lot younger than we really are! i'm 26 right now but i could totally pass for 18, LOL! one time i was in a hotel swimming pool with my other asian friend (we were 24 at the time) and one of the workers came by and was like… are you guys older than 16? you need parental supervision if you're not… we were like UMMMM YES, we are WAYY over 16, LOL! i just think that when we're older, the fact that we look young will play to our advantage! =)
I guess it's good to look young – right? When we are 50 we'll love it… But right now its slightly annoying.
Actually, I got the opposite one day. I was having one of those PMS days (everything made me emotional) My husband, Nate, and I were going to a BBQ for a friend (this was recently) and a college aged girl walked up to me and said, "Are you Nate's older sister?" WHHHATTTT? I gave her a grundy look, eyes filled with tears and locked myself in the bathroom to agonize over the small wrinkles on my forehead.
Nice. Real nice.
=)