2w ago

Is it weird I don't typically answer how old I am anymore, because literally nobody besides my family believes me?

I'm 29 but I get told I look 18-19. And the people who tell me this regularly see a lot of people on the daily, from police officers to nurses to salon workers. When I tell them my actual age they literally gasp or laugh at me. The older I get, the more pronounced their reaction is. Doctors were saying "you definitely have something wrong, I can tell just by looking at you" but then the hormonal results all came back normal and they just shrugged. Another weird thing is anti-loitering devices hurt my ears, and those aren't supposed to affect people older than 20.

40 comments

I have the same problem with being handsome. I'm just really really good lookin. Nobody believes it. When I meet people and tell them I'm really good looking, they're like no way. My doctor wouldn't send me for tests but was shocked.
Eh, I'm 45 and anti-loitering bothers me as well. Also, anti-mosquito sound devices that some people put in their yards. And cheap USB wall warts.
- That just means you took care of your ears and have good ear genetics
  
  I've been a musician (amateur) since I was nine. Hence my nickname. You bet I take care of my ears!
- Imagine the awkwardness if it was tinnitus all this time.
Another weird thing is anti-loitering devices hurt my ears, and those aren’t supposed to affect people older than 20.
That assumes that your hearing is damaged at the average rate. Don't blast your music or TV and wear hearing protection when using a lawnmower or other loud device and you can keep hearing those high pitched sounds into your thirties.
- I'm almost 40 and can still hear those damn things.
  
  Yeah I'm 36 and can hear them as well. They're so annoying and give me a headache. :-/
  
  34 here and have occasionally felt the need to punch random people who are experimenting with those in public because they can't hear it.
- I didn’t realize anti loitering devices were a thing. What part of the world are they used?
  
  I'm going to guess somewhere people think they're free or something silly like that
- I remember, in my teens, being able to hear CRT screens when they were on (without of course seeing the screen), sometimes even from the adjoining room. But I haven't had the chance to be next to one in almost 20 years so I can't know if I still have this ability.
- It's a part of your inner ear that calcifies as you age. It doesn't harden for everyone. But most people around mid 20s
Tell them you're actually a 13 billion year old fire squid in a human skinsuit.
You’re not… supposed to tell these mortals about being immortal… it’s literally in the first page of the handbook.
It’s a great superpower. In my 30s I got to experience my 20s (I pretty much wasted those years working) and had a bunch of early/mid 20 friends. I didn’t stand out. Everyone thought I was their age, but I had the brain of a 30++ year old so men couldn’t take advantage of me. It was awesome. Had I done that in my actual 20s, I would’ve made a lot of mistakes…
I had that problem until the bags under my eyes gave me away, nobody's surprised anymore. Just gotta give it time.
Even if it's annoying now, future you will miss the lost youth later! I can imagine it being annoying when dating though especially if you're more mature than most of the people you attract
I used to get that a lot. I was constantly carded. Once they wouldn't sell to me, even with my ID, because I had the babysitter with me and they thought we were both underage trying to buy alcohol. When I was about 25 I started adding10 years to my age when people asked, just to see the reaction.
- When I was about 25 I started adding10 years to my age when people asked, just to see the reaction.
  I love it. This is the way.
- Yeah my brother said you should always tell people you are older than you are, so that they think you look good for your age.
When I was a kid, I always got confused for an adult. Nobody believed I was a minor. I once got confused for a college student when I was just about to graduate from elementary school.
Now I'm 41 and I have the opposite problem. Everyone thinks I'm in my late 20s/early 30s. Even with a white patch on my beard, people still think I'm just a young man who's going gray young.
It doesn't help that I retired at 38 years old. No one believes me when I say I'm already retired. I've had a few people ask me if I'm just living with my parents and calling it "retired." Ha!
- Are you by chance a vampire? Or possibly some other immortal being?
- Lucky!! Nice work
That's what a vampire would say
I'd say this is actually a good thing...
I'm old now but look nearly identical to how I did in high school. Its annoying to answer after a while and have everyone be completely in awe or disbelief. So no, its not.
Could try to make something funny of it instead.
"I lost count after 65"
Yeah I tell people when they ask, they gasp, but then they forget. It's mostly people younger than me who do this, though. And when I was 12 people often perceived me as a grown woman (I was tall. Didn't even have my period yet, just the height and my overall look and face I guess read 'adult') but just stayed the same for a long time. I am aging, I can see it. But nobody seems to think I look like their idea of my age.
We have an intern at our work who does look like a 13 year old. I think he's 21 or so but really does look like a child. I can imagine it's annoying.
If you're the type with testosterone, growing a beard helps
People think my identical twin is young because they're only like 4'11" and height equals age. It sucks a lot as we're pushing 40.
- Huh, TIL that identical twins can be different heights.
  
  Birth trauma happens and sometimes one never catches up in height ever again.
Are you some kinda sorcerer? It's okay, I'm not the sort of mortal who'd burn someone to death over that, you can tell me.
Just get face tattoos.
Bryan Johnson: interest intesifies
I'm regularly mistaken for being more than a dozen years younger than I am. =D
I don't have much to say other than I once worked with someone in this exact situation. She was 30 but looked like she's still in highschool. It's surreal.
What you do with it is up to you! Like most things, it's a blessing and a curse. Try to look on the bright side. As I'm sure you've been told hundreds of times, when you're way older you're going to reap a lot of benefits of looking young.
If it were me (for reference, I'm 31 male) I'd probably just keep giving straight answers and make the best of whatever reactions I get. Obviously in different contexts you'd prefer different reactions but in any case you get what you get.
Please tell me most people, when they eventually believe you, say you look freaking amazing!

40 comments