I get embarrassed by looking younger than I am.....

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I don't get embarrassed. I like looking younger than I am because when I was in my teens people thought I looked older than my actual age.

Wow, I mean, just wow!

You're 35. 15 years from now you'll feel differently, believe me!
Sure, it can bring with it a few hassles to look younger than you are, but the plus sides are overwhelming. Think about it, list the plus sides you can think of and you'll find they outweigh the down sides.
Nothing is 100% positive. There are down sides to everything in life, even to incredible wealth, beauty, and you name it.

I found that I could compensate by behaving a tad more mature than I had to be for my age. It got me more admiration than a youthful look alone did.
In terms of your job, you may be able to counter the down sides by dressing a bit more mature. Maybe you can also develop a habit that is associated with maturity (smoking cigars, f.x.).
It can also be a good idea to attach an air of 'class' around yourself. I don't know if you're extrovert, most aspies are not, so I'm saying this with the assumption that you also aren't. 'Class' often means being a little more introvert, a little less talkative, keeping that little more straight posture, maybe moving slightly slower than most people do - not when you walk or work, but in what you do with your hands, f.x..

It's hard to give advice because we're all different, and what worked for me may not work for you. I am very extrovert, f.x., (and have ADHD on top of it), so it was something of a challenge for me to develop a classy behavior. But I succeeded, and it was a good feeling in the end to have overcome yet an obstacle.

Quite puzzling, isn't it?
My story is the same.

I rarely tell people that I looked older than my age during my teens because it seems to be a contradiction to the fact that I look younger than my actual age now.

It doesn't happen any more, but even when I was in my late 20's/early 30's I used to get mistaken for a child because I am small. I also have long, unstyled hair, don't wear make up and back then I used to dress quite young. Strangers, people who came knocking door to door used to ask me "Is your mum in?" when I answered the door. I found that extremely awkward and embarrassing. I felt very childlike and was so childlike and shy in my social behaviour it was very difficult for me to explain to them that I was the mum of the household. Children often used to ask me "Are you a little girl or a lady?" Again I felt really awkward and didn't know how to answer them.

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Last edited by pree10shun on 20 Aug 2011, 1:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hehe true. I looked a lot older than I was in my teens. Maybe because I was a lil over weight in my teens. I looked almost 10 years older than I was and now I look 7 years younger than I am. I can't think of what must've changed.. I think in my teens I had a lot more worries than I have now.

but I like looking younger better than looking older.. It makes me feel more confident for some reason..

Being able to relate to people of all ages is what makes in kind of difficult sometimes.



I do drive a clean, 20 yr. old Cadillac.

So I have a car people associate with belonging to retired folks(in this area of the U.S.). With a guy who looks young driving it around. And then, due to social stigma, I feel as though the cops will want to pull me over because of the assumption I may be a drug dealer.

I got an OVI once for driving while stoned though. Oops....was 4 yrs. ago, however


I am an introvert in person. Only shy until I get used to those around me. But, even then.....I often feel like all I do is the listening.

I did tell those involved in my work program, that looking younger than my yrs. has been an issue before.

Thanks for all the input. I did shave my chin clean today. I figure it is best to look a little younger than to look like Shaggy from scooby doo. Had a patch of chin hair and it's started to get me thinking that I must have "looked" like either a pothead or an ex-pothead.

I am glad for this website. I don't feel as shy writing my feelings and getting other's opinons...



It's the thousands of opinions that are given and not asked for......that wears me out

hey, why not use camouflage? I often feel like a chameleon......trying to dress appropriately for each visitor and each social situation so as to "blend in"

But I was actually slightly chubby in my earlier childhood, but very thin during my teens.
Actually I think it has something to do with behavior. If you have some of the 'mind sets' of a child -
f.x. unquenchable optimism and curiosity, openness, confidence but also 'innocence' even when you
do things that aren't strictly considered appropriate - this is reflected in the way your carry yourself.

I was always aware of this and used it. I wanted to seem older than I was, and so I acquired the manner-
isms of an older person.




As an adult there is less pretense involved, I simply am still in many ways the same person and have the
same outlook on life as I did as a child (on a side note, I think this plays a role in why I remember so
far back and have an easy time understanding how kids and teenagers feel and think).

Difficult? How do you mean?

I somehow always had an easy time relating to people of all ages.
It's one of the things that made me different from my peers. They
couldn't understand how - or why - I managed to get close to both
older and younger people.

Maybe it's more correct to say I was interested in all ages, than saying
I could relate. But I really think I actually can relate to more or less any-
body if they let me get close enough. And I think it's fun to interact
with all kinds of people.




I've had a lot of issues with the law because I looked and acted differently from the norm.
I was so angry and stubborn, wouldn't give into formalism and 'blind following the mainstream'.
I made some mistake because of this attitude and because there was no one who could guide
me.

You said it!

I used to hate that when I was younger. Now I see the usefulness of doing it.
After all, it's not the clothes but the people that are important.

I wish somebody had explained that to me, but instead they actually told me
it was the clothes that mattered, and that's what I rebelled against.

So much damage come with lacking and failed guidance!

I have always felt that it would be so fun to have a good amount of money in a bank account. But still look very ordinary.
I've known one person in my life that lived like this. Very few people knew they had money. They drove a 1979 chevy malibu. But were millionares.

Thwy gave it away when they built their house though. As it looked like a shopping mall, even though it was supposed to be a house. It reminded me of a really fancy nursing home actually.

When I was in my teens I used to get annoyed about looking younger/people thinking I was a lot younger (the old "There's no WAY you're 20"). I've even had peers demand to see my driving licence so they could "prove" I was "a liar".
Now I am 27 and approaching 30 I am starting to take being ID-ed as a compliment. My mum (currently being tested for AS) is in her mid 50s...she doesn't look a day over 40, if 40 at all, so I think it kinda puts itself in perspective as you get older. It could be worse - I could be one of those 18 year olds who sunbeds themselves to a crisp and slaps on loads of makeup with the result being she looks about 30!

yes, yes.......the overly-tanned, leathery skin thing is repulsive to me. an obsession or an addiction with that, i wonder???

I've debated on commenting on posts regarding age and looking younger because I don't want to come across as conceited but I think I'm in good company.

For the most part, I enjoy looking much younger than I am and I attribute much of it to my youthful attitude and love of life (plus, I've taken good care of myself and I'm proud of that). But now that I'm approaching 40, I feel a little ostracized because of it. It's the reaction people have and it happens all the time. Just recently, my next door neighbor who has seen me many times heard me mention something about "when I was 30". He thought I was kidding and said that there's no way I'm near 30. When I told him I was 37, at first he was like, "wow! that's amazing" but then things got quiet and awkward. He asked how that was possible and wanted me to confirm it.

I wouldn't care so much but I get this a lot. It's not so much that I look young as it is that I haven't changed or aged. My face looks like it did when I was a toddler, and I have red hair and freckles too. I've been carded and since I don't make eye contact (or make it too much because I'm trying) people are very suspicious of me, including cops who have looked at my ID.

I also don't know what to say when people comment on my age because it seems they are looking for an explanation so I end up sounded like a jacka$$ with my rehearsed responses or stuttering, which makes me look even more suspect. And that's what I feel like- a suspect.

Speaking of cops and other authorities- they use my age and awkwardness as a reason to harass me, and I mean harass. I have feared for my life at times because people zero in on me. When others witness this from a distance, they think I'm getting attention, but this has been something that has caused much anxiety and I don't trust anyone. Even though I don't get into legal trouble, cops mess with me a lot. It's not cool either.

Now I'm afraid that I've said this, I'm going to rapidly age overnight. Don't get me wrong- I like looking younger because that it a coveted trait and much of it is due to personal care. But I think many of you can relate that it's disconcerting to people the way we look young. One good thing is that I've always worked or been involved in health and fitness, and I know my stuff. People tend to take my advice because of my youthful appearance and it's nice to be taken seriously, especially when it's more common to be humiliated for my differences.

Gotta go. My wonderful dog just entered the room and he's telling me it's time to stop being so serious and come play... or maybe he wants food. I love that my dogs understand me better than I understand them. It makes me feel all one with the universe and mother nature.

Cheers!! !

I have been seeing the gray hair I have now. When the sun hits my head. Strangely, it's not really too visible to people unless I am out in the sun. It's there though.

So...still "feel" young...and I have read on here....that's what really matters....