yesterday and today were one of those days when people tell you things you don’t really want to hear OR that make you wonder why some people feel the need to share their opinion.

let me preface this rant with me saying that i know that there are worse problems in life. those comments just strung the wrong nerve on the wrong day.

i was told i look much younger than my age – me saying i am 29 actually resulted in a “no, you are lying!” reaction instead of a more positive “you held up well”. i’m in my first round of being 29 but i’m 29 nontheless and i am a little tired of people thinking i am 18. i know being judged younger also means i am not being taken as seriously.

i also was told that i looked very tired and still sick. that actually came from my supervisor. i refrained from asking her to give me more time off to recover fully. i am doing much better but i can tell i’m not back at 100%.

and then there was the (almost) usual: someone thought i was a student. folks, just because i walk around with a college jacket i am not necessarily a student. i guess this one falls into the “looking young” category. and i did not miss the irony that soon i actually will be a student again. what is frustrating for me is that people are thinking so much in stereotypes and categories (and i am not excluding myself from that!). of course most of the time they get it wrong or mention their observations at the wrong time. yes, i do look young but don’t blurt it out all the time and don’t question it like i would deliberately state an older age. who does that anyways?!

again a reminder of my disclaimer: i KNOW there are worse problems for mankind than me struggling with my young looks or with me looking tired. but today was just not the right day to tell me.

franzi