I received what I felt was an odd compliment: Our waitress liked my hair (not an odd compliment), "It makes you look young," she said (odd compliment). I felt that this was an entirely different comment than, "That haircut makes you look younger," as fed to you by someone who knows what you looked like before said haircut. But this woman was a complete stranger. To her, I just looked young.
It is not new to me to hear people who know the number of candles on my cake say that I look young for my age. Since I've always been my own age and looked the way I look, I'm not sure what to think of this. I am fortunate to not have wrinkles or to have found any gray strands yet. I know it's coming, and I don't dread it, exactly. I've never been ashamed of my age, and once I begin showing my age I don't see any reason to lie about it.
Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I have seen pictures of the classmates I graduated
high school with, and they don't look any older than I do. So, since they are my age and appear no older, how is it I look young for my age? Was my entire graduating class genetically blessed? Is my age reading skewed, or are others'? What is my age supposed to look like?
Obviously there are many answers to that question. Our modern times allow for anyone to appear to be almost any age they choose, with the help of unpronounceable chemicals, poisonous injections, and plastic surgery. I have my doubts that everyone else my age has gone to one or all of these lengths to look younger. Certainly there are those that appear older than they are, but you wouldn't dare tell them this. In fact, pair any two humans of the same age, and some will conclude that one
appears older than the other. When a person tells you their age, whether they appear older or younger than that is first, a matter of subjective opinion, and second, completely incidental. Rather than blurting a backhanded, "You look great for your age!" or replying with a quiet I-feel-kinda-bad-for-you-then "Oh," how about we just accept that age looks different on everyone?
I want to add that this is a lesson for me, not a sermon. I've certainly been guilty of trying to gauge how old people are. I've also failed miserably at this, which is why you won't hear me barking at the fair's "Guess Your Age" booth.
