when i was a teenager i was told that i have a baby face. i was also told that one day i'd appreciate looking younger than i actually am.
i went to buy a lotto ticket a couple of days ago [funny how i'm more optimistic about the odds when i'm broke]. i'm a pretty good lip-reader so if i'm in a shop and carrying out a simple transaction i often leave my headphones in my ears and my music playing. as i handed my lotto tickets to the guy behind the counter he seemed to be asking me how i was. so i told him i was fine, and i even threw in the obligatory 'you?' but he asked me again, and so i took out my left earbud and asked him to repeat himself.
man: how old are you?
me: how old am i? i'm 27!
man: oh. sorry. i wasn't sure if you were old enough to play lotto.
me: how old do you have to be to play?
man: 16.
me: so i look 15?
man: you could pass.
so um...when does this become flattering? i mean, it's already hilarious, but when will it feel like a compliment? when will i respond to erroneous guesses at my age with a fluttering of my eyelashes and a coy 'oh, stop!'?
the older i get, the more i realise that i actually love being the age i am. i always feel like i've earned the next year i step into. the first few weeks might feel a little weird, and as time goes by it can sometimes take me that extra second to remember my age, but when i do remember it i always feel snug and comfy and warm. it always feels right. because of this, i have a sense that i'm gonna feel 60 at 60, and love 70 at 70. i get that it's supposed to be a positive thing that people think i look younger than i am, but i actually prefer it when someone gets it right. that's when the eyelashes flutter. that's when i get coy.
there's a lot of life, love, loss and joy in this 27 year old face. i like it to be seen.
Posts
yes, be happy to look younger
ReplyDelete15...i dunno...but nonetheless its a good thing!
you look beautiful in both pictures...cant believe that is a decade of difference
You do look younger than 27,maybe 24,but never 15 lol I'm 15, and most people say i look 18
ReplyDeleteg'head girl!
ReplyDeletemost 27 year olds I know are trying to hold on to 25. they're dreading 30.
its a shame.
your beautiful... i love your cut too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, you have a babyface for real. I think it's your cheeks, babe.
ReplyDeleteIssues of numerical age and actual physicality haunt me too. I've been hit on by men in their 40s who have thought that I am 14. Older women, and much taller women tend to be more attracted to me as well. While it may be a strange phenomenon of melanin, there are days when I bask in it, and others where I'm like, did that grown ass man really just think I'm a little girl? and if so, what if I really was? ....shame
ReplyDeleteyou don't look much older than 17, but there is definitely something in your eyes and the way you hold yourself that says "I ain't 17 b" in that second picture...
ReplyDeleteI feel ya...I get the "younger than you are aintcha?" all the time. Twas worse when I was teaching in secondary school! MAN! Many thought I was in Year 11 (kiss teeth). It's a blessing, methinks :)
ReplyDeleteI think you do look younger than you really are, but 15 is pushing it. And i understand your annoyance. I hear i look like a teen all the time and so just like you, i'm wondering when it'll become flattering.
ReplyDeletehey hunn just stopping by showing your blog some love...very interesting...we love it : )
ReplyDelete**YANTAN**
COME STOP BY SOMETIME... ;-P
Can't wait til' your 37 so I can say you look 25!!!(LOL)
ReplyDeleteLUHV!!! :-)
You're beautiful! (no homo, lol)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your haircut!!
And hahaha I pray I look half as young as you do when I'm 27. But I agree with you... I do feel like I've earned the age I am.
But lol I'm still 20. Soooo can't wait to turn 21 tho!