Reality Check: Is it better to look older, younger or your actual age?

On this 22 of February, my half birthday, I am left to ponder: is it better to look older, younger or my actual age? In six months, I will be 25, which is an age I am not looking forward to being.

I remember being six and for the first time in my life possessing the awareness that in ten years I would be sixteen. "Wow," I thought. "Sixteen" And at seven, I was amazed at the prospects of seventeen, and at eight, eighteen. As the years passed, I revelled in my years, but still yearned to be older. To reach that point. 25 could possibly be the first year I'd like to go backward. I am aware that I am shorter than your average 24 and a half year old. I also have a very fair skintone and don't wear much more make-up than is necessary. I go for the natural appearance. And in a city like New York, that is not of the norm. That being said, let me share a few tales all occuring since my twenty fourth birthday:

September: It's a typical fall Saturday night out at the movies with friends. I get to the ticket counter. We're seeing a Rated-R movie. "One for Towelhead, please."

There is a pause in this exchange.

"How old are you?" the clerk asks.

I open my mouth and no words come out. I swollow those non-existant words.

I chuckle, "I'm 24. I just turned 24! Would you like to see my ID?"

The clerk declines and reassures that I look young because I'm not wearing a button-down shirt. Weird. I guess that makes me look 16? A new low, so to speak.

Sometime in the Fall:
I'm sitting at my cubicle at work. The clock has passed 5:00 PM and most people have left for the day. Another co-worker hears that I am still in the office and comes over to chat. I tell the above story, at which point, he asks, "How old are you?"

Like I'm going to tell!

I retort, "How old do you think I am?"

"25."

Yes!!! I seem older! Although, in the working world, 25 is still young.

December:

I'm riding in a cab in Jerusalem after a long day as a tourist. My friendly cab driver has just uncovered that I'm only in town for a short period of time and is disappointed at me.

“Why are you only here for two weeks? You are young. You should be learning here for a year.”

“No, no. I have a job I have to get back to unfortunately.”

“But you are young. How old are you?”

"How old do you think I am?”

I chuckled, knowing he would be off-base.“Eh… 17, 18.”

“Hahahahahahaha. No, older.”

He guessed 20.

And then I informed him that I am 24.

“But you have a baby face! This is a good thing for when you get older.”

Is it?

February:

I have time to kill after work one evening before meeting my brother for pizza. I wander over to Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue in the hopes of finding a new purse (on sale). I find nothing in my confines. Next to the purses are the make-up counters.

One of the Clinique ladies catches my attention. She tries to sell me on superdefense, which is an age-defying moisturizer. I tell her I used to use it, until Clinique changed the formula and the new product literally burned my face.

Even though the cab driver in Jerusalem told me I had a baby face and the clerk at the movie theater thought I was 16, a salesman still managed to sell me superdefense probably over a year ago. At 23 and a half. I was at Macy's that day to fulfill a Clinique bonus, and even though I told him I did not need to regenerate any cells since I look like a child already, he told me it would help when I'm older. So, I spent $39 on a container of cream because it would help when I'm older. And I proceeded to rebuy that container of cream every 6 weeks thereafter until Clinique reformulated it and my skin felt aflame (don't worry, I returned it and got my $39 back).

So, back to Lord & Taylor's. Somehow the saleswoman convinced me to sit in the chair and try out a few products. While removing my current make-up, applying all sorts of fun products, I lamented that maybe I needed something to make me look a shade older. I shared the movie-theater story.

"Well, you do look young."

"How old do you think I am?" I asked.

"Now that you've told me that story, I know you're a little older than I originally thought." She shared.

Oh, no. She probably thought I was 16...

"I would say you're about 20."

Sarcastic laughing follows.



I spent a good chunk of my childhood longing to be older. I get to the beginning of that "being older" stuff and I spend money on some cream that is supposed to prevent the appearance of aging. But on a professional level, to appear older is the goal. My face is stuck in its teens, unfortunately.

So, is it better to look older, younger or your actual age?