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[alethea7]

How old do I look?

Seems like wherever I go, the consensus is that not only do I not look 23, the ballpark ranges from 16 (!?!?!!?) to maybe 21.

Not that I wish to look old before my time, but when you're starting out as a teacher, the last thing you want is for people to think you're the same age as your students.

Comments

adults v. children

[whitesonnet]

Just wait until your friends have kids or you make friends with people with kids. Then kids will just assume you are the same age as your friend, whether it be 26 or 40. My cousin (who is 46) has a 10 year old son who thinks I'm his mom's age - which I think actually bothers her more than me. And, my boyfriend is 29, his sister is 35 and her daughter is 11. At Christmas I commented on the fact that his niece had named her Guitar Hero band Paramore and she responded "Yeah, it's a real band." I was so shocked that a pre-teen saw me no longer as the cooler older kid, but as an adult that must be as clueless as her mom. I couldn't even bare to come up with a snarky response, I just said "Oh."

So, I am anywhere from 24, to 30, to 35, to 46 on any given day. While working at a summer camp, several kids asked my brother Andy (who is 19) how many kids he had.

Yeah. Kids have no idea.

[prophet1022]

I would assume you were in your early twenties, maybe not 23, but certainly not jail bait, just because of the way you carry yourself and act.

I have to say, when your therapy clients ask you how old you are, or whether you have kids, or if you're married, and they don't like your responses, it's really hard. They immediately think you're incompetent and think about suing for malpractice.

I don't think I look as young as you (I even have some prominent silver hairs) but I still empathize.

[vantagegt]

16? Haha, that's hilarious. I would say mid-twenties, but I'm quite biased in my opinion. Oh well, kids are stupid.

[alethea7]

fortunately, the kids have no problem calling me by my surname. I honestly think it would creep the kids out to call me Erica. I'm not sure their little minds are ready for THAT kind of education.

But the adults. Uggh. I'm one of you now, damn it!!

[vantagegt]

Adults. Pfft. They'll never take me alive.

[spuma_spumata]

Becky went through the same kind of shit when she started teaching. At least you dont look as young as she does.

[firefly1120]

I worked at the Boys & Girls club for a couple of months recently. The kids did not seem to separate me and my co-workers (we were all between 21 and 26) from our supervisors who were in their mid-30s or so. I think to kids, people older than them are all the same- grownups.

AND. My second grade teacher was 25 at the time. As an 8-year-old though, that number didn't mean much to me and I put her on the same level as my parents, who were in their late 30s at that time. And now I realize that she was only two years older than we are now. WEIRD. And now for the end of this super-rambly comment.