I am who I thought I was
I was heading back to my apartment earlier today when I was stopped by a confused grad student looking for the registrar's office. He was on Academic Quad, thinking the office was housed within the same building as the president's, when in fact it is actually in the CAB, on the other side of the quad. We were going in the same direction, so we talked a bit. He's from Nepal, and we had a spirited discussion on the geography of Virginia and Maryland. We also introduced ourselves, of course, which is when he asked if I was a grad student. I said no, so he then asked if I was a senior. I responded with a no again, and told him I was actually a junior. He was natrually surprised by this. This has got me thinking all day about how people constantly think I'm much older than I actually am, and why that is. Obviously the fact I can have a five o'clock shadow actually at five o'clock the same day helps, as does the deep voice, but I also feel my level of perceived maturity is a culprit. Just about everyone comments on how much more mature I am than most people my age. It's just that I don't feel it. I always do something that I believe makes me act my age, or younger, either by awkward comments or just doing something really stupid. Maybe I'm too hard on myself, I don't know, but either way it is pretty cool. It's very funny to go to a bar and not be questioned about your ID despite being under by a few months while others my age are getting carded for R-rated movies.