Some of us like to know that we look good for our age, and others delight when they look significantly younger than they really are. I was born with the "you look so young" gene, and man it sure does makes me feel inadequate.

I was born in 1980 and most folks who don't know me would say that I am lying. Whenever I am travelling, I can tell that the workers at the airport are thinking, "oh my, that's so cute, this little girl travelling on her own, where are her parents?"

I hate that, and it kills me even more when they are like, "sweetie are you ok, do you need some assistance? "Guess what, yes, I am ok. I remember the interview that went horribly wrong. The guy made me feel like I was too young to be considered for the position. I was delighted when it was over.

But this takes the cake. Last Saturday my husband and I went to Home Depot to find a grill since the one we currently had was too old. As you walk inside there is a popcorn machine that greets you. My husband and I were looking at different grills and the smell of the popcorn was creeping over our way, so I walked over and asked the lady for a bag of free popcorn, she then asked if my parent was with me.

I assumed at that point that the popcorn was only for kids, so I said, "oh I didn't realize it was only for kids", she said, "no, but I need to know if your parents are with you." I then realized she was really asking me for my parents. So I loudly said to her "I'm 28 years old and don't need my parent to get some popcorn." She then apologized, and her associate told me I should take it as a compliment. Yeah right. Isn't that something?

By Latoya Gimler
Vernon CT.