Thursday, May 31, 2007

Seventeen


What the crap? Ok. So within the last 4 days I have been told I look seventeen, not once, but twice. Grrrr. It isn't even like someone told me, Wow you look young and someone else said How old are you. On two separate days, when I am wearing two separate type of cloths and have my hair in two separate styles I have been told I look exactly SEVENTEEN.


Sunday morning I went and got my oil changed. I was waiting in the lobby area flipping through a magazine when I overheard a gentleman talking with the woman checking him out about basketball. They were talking about the Western Conference Finals game that happened the night before. They then mentioned that they couldn't think of the teams in the East. Knowing me, I popped into the conversation at that time and said "Detroit and Cleveland". The woman at the check out then said something like "Oh yeah, I saw your Michigan University license plate on your car, are you from back there?" I responded with a "Yeah, I graduated from there a little over a year ago". She looked amazed and said that I looked like I should have been graduating from high school and not college, but that of course it was a compliment (sure, sure). She said, "You look 17, how old are you?" I told her that I would be turning 23 in a couple months and she was shocked, continuing to assure me that looking young for your age is something most women would love to do (yeah, yeah, I've heard it before).


Last night I walked up to the dry cleaners to get my work pants cleaned. I always wear a ring on my ring finger of my right hand - it is the ring that my mom used to wear when she would travel overseas in place of her wedding ring so that she didn't lose her wedding band or anything like that. I pulled my pants out of my book bag and put them on the counter and the woman helping me said in a loud and shocking voice, "YOU AREN'T MARRIED ARE YOU?" I looked confused and said, "No, why do you ask". She pointed to my finger and I said, "Oh no, if I was married I would wear the ring on my left hand, this is just a ring". She said something to the effect of "Oh thank goodness, because you look seventeen." I told her that I was actually turning 23 shortly, which made her assure me that looking young was something great.


I don't get it. On Sunday I was dressed decently, ready for church, with my hair down and freshly showered (which oddly enough is something that does not happen as often as you would think, hehe) and last night I was in gym shorts and a white tshirt with my hair up in a pony tail and a little sweaty from the walk up to the cleaners. I guess when I am 40 I will like the fact that I look young but for some reason it just doesn't sit well with me right now. I normally don't care what others think about me, but I don't know why this erks me so. Maybe it is because I feel more mature than 17 and would assume my look portrays that, maybe it is because if people think that I am 17 it is not just my look but my maturity level, maybe it is because I feel like I have accomplished a fair amount in my 22 years and I want people to recognize that and know that I have done a lot. Who knows what it is, and I guess I shouldn't care. I just thought it was interesting that two separate people in two separate cities when I am looking two separate ways told me that I look exactly 17 4 days apart from each other.

1 comment:

Tami said...

Hey Carlee,
Thought I'd chime in here. You don't look 17. If it makes you feel any better, I got that all the time and still do. It bothered me then, but now, at 36, I don't mind it so much anymore. Well, except when, 2 years ago, I went into the christian book store to buy a book about raising boys and the lady was extremely offended that I had a kid. THAT was a little offensive. I had to patiently (or not) explain I was 34 at which she said she thought I was 20.
Anyway, hang in there. What's an annoyance now will be a compliment one day :-)
Tami