Looking Young

by Claudia of Awakened Little Souls & Seeking Celestial Grace

I’m a tiny thing. At five feet, five inches, 110lbs and slender size, I can easily get lost in a crowd. It is an on-going joke with my best friend Dan who is more than double my size. It is a re-occurring tease to my tall acquaintances who tower over me.  And to go along with my small size, I have a youthful look. Because of this, I often get mistaken as being far younger than I actually am. The following is a conversation I had with a cashier a few moments ago after I mentioned I work with children:

Cashier: You WORK with children?
Me: Yes. I’m a supply teacher. I know I look like a student. I know I look seventeen but I’m twenty-four.
Cashier: Seventeen? I would have said twelve!

Okay, a bit of an exaggeration if I do say so myself, but I get it, I look young. I am often told that it will be to my benefit, but it got me thinking of the pros and cons…

Pros:
I will look a lot younger than I actually am when it matters (when I’m years and years older)
It is easy to convince people to bend to my requests when I pull out the young-thing puppy eyes 😉
It is a form of amusement for friends and acquaintances

Cons:
People don’t take me seriously
People judge my maturity level
People  question my judgement or intelligence
I miss opportunities that might otherwise be given to me if I looked my age (eg. speaking at events and being taken seriously by listeners)
It is a form of amusement for friends and acquaintances

 

The cons certainly outweigh the pros. And the pros are of minor importance in comparison to the cons. I don’t like not being taken seriously as I do consider myself to be very intelligent, well spoken, and mature. Many I have met who are of the same age or even far older still engage in childish and immature behaviour on a day-to-day basis. I am an old soul stuck in a young body.

But that doesn’t mean to say that I don’t like where I’m stuck. I really like that I look young! I really like being the tiny thing that I am! It is simply a part of being me. It influences my character. It pushes me to go beyond the stereotypes that might be associated with my youthful look. It empowers me to go above and beyond what people might expect of me and to blow their mind. It makes me strive to be a better person, to be great not only to prove myself to others but to feel good about myself as well. Knowing I am above just the way I may appear to others makes me feel really good about myself. I may get a glance and be judged because of the age I might look, but I am aware of the truth, aware of my maturity, aware of my intelligence, aware of my good judgement, and that is enough for me!

image from mindbodygreen.com

With Love,
Claudia Amendola