In college I really noticed how young I looked. People thought I was a child prodigy, that I was attending college at age 15. One time, some junior high school kids wandered onto campus and tried to pick me up. Guys would always try to pick me up literally, too. Big dumb boys would come over and physically lift me.
It was the worst feeling because I would feel like I had no control over what they did to me, and I just wasn't strong or big enough to make them put me down.
My quiet baby voice is another thing. I remember calling friends at work and then hearing
"Excuse me Scott, but I
think there's a young girl on
the phone for you."
And when I talk to people, sometimes they don't really listen, or else they just blatantly interrupt me. It's hard to have a commanding presence without having an adultish voice and a look that makes people notice me and take me seriously.
Now that I'm in the adult world, I usually don't get people lifting me up. I have had a cab driver tell me he thought I was 10 or 11. And the other day I bought a sandwich, and the guy behind the counter gave me a cookie.
I usually just take these incidents in stride, because most of the time I forget that I'm small and look really young. But if I hear another
"Hey, we can put Teresa on the..." joke again,
I'll puke.
