It’s not a secret that I look at least half my age. Everyone who knows me has mentioned it in one way or another whether it’s a ‘Woah you don’t look that old’ or some kind of joke it never goes unnoticed. And whilst I’ve kind of come to terms with it I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me. It can be a struggle to do everyday things at times because of it. Work meetings, buying age restricted items, meeting new people… And maybe if my experiences in life had been different I may have another take on it all but the older I get the more difficult it becomes. Will I look like this when I’m in my 70’s?

Dating is kind of impossible, particularly using Apps where the first impression is your photo, seeing someone who looks A LOT younger than you is definitely a turn off and not one you’d swipe yes to. Also meeting people in bars/clubs, which to be honest has never been my thing to do, has likely always been hampered because of it. Anyone who says it shouldn’t affect that is simply wrong, I have first hand experience and it really sticks with you and there’s nothing I can do. Not everyone is like that but it’s just how things go, and I don’t blame them. I guess it affects my confidence in doing things.

The upsides? It can be funny though as I sometimes get ID’ed when buying alcohol and if I’m with my friends they all get ID’ed too because they are with me xD. That generally leads to some age-related jokes back at me though, but I accept it as banter. On the topic of ID’s, I wonder at what age I will be when they see my ID and think ‘this clearly CANNOT be you’. I was in a pub once when the bartender was convinced the ID was not me because I ‘looked too young’… yes, that’s why I carry ID?! lol… the struggles are real.

I shouldn’t let it get me down and I know there are people in the world who don’t care about that stuff, but the reality is it does affect me and it’s hard to not think about it. It’s always in the back of my head when certain things happen or don’t go my way – ‘is it because I look so young?’.

Anyways I’m not sure what the point was for this post? I don’t think I’ve ever really talked about it before, so there’s that.