Looking too young, a bad thing

[respirit]

Hey,

I have an interesting problem to say the least, I've been 18 for awhile now and am in my first year of college. I'm about 5'5 and barely over 100 lbs...bottom line is, I'm small.

A common question I get when I first meet someone is how old I am, followed up by a "Wow, I thought you were 18-x!" (Where x is a positive integer...forgive me, I've been doing math homework). Of course those are the ones that actually talk to me, often times in classes I sometimes hear muttering about some kid who looks young/small/little/like a high school freshman here to earn college credits early, and 99% of the time I can safely assume the kid they are talking about is me. This has made me a bit uneasy to approach people, because I feel as if I'm not taken seriously.

I don't think it helps with relationship affairs either as I probably look too young to date and the thought of it would be awkward. I've pretty much given up looking to go out with people my age or 1-2 years older and have thought about trying out a relationship with someone younger (like 1-3 years under my age).

I guess you can say I feel a bit alienated and not part of the group. If anyone can relate to me or provide advice on how I can at least be perceived to be closer to my age group it would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance! :smilewave

[mcrteenagers]

Interesting problem. Difficult problem.

I'll start with the easy stuff. First off, don't think it inhibits relationships in any way. At least from my view. I went on a date with someone who was 5'2" and like 100 lbs. Me being alittle over 6 feet - it was interesting :P

Secondly. Its hard to make yourself look older. Time is your best bet, but time takes time. Try finding clothes that make you look older - there are a few tricks.

Otherwise, thats all I can say right now lol

Good luck, we're here to help!

[CrimsonThunder]

One of my best friends is really small and young looking, we often pay him out by saying that hes in grade 7 or a midget... I think he hates it and thats why we do it. =P

Having said that, you don't look that young in your profile pic.

[Alexander]

Same problem here :p

I look about 13 most of the time

Nothing you can do about it except find guys who like younger guys

[Time]

I like mcrteenagers's idea about the clothes. That's really your best bet for now.

I share your problem. I'm 13, I'm always I told I look like I'm 10 or 11 >_>

[Nicvcer]

Bah! Don't feel this way! Embrace your youth while it lasts, in a few years you will probably miss it. I have always been small like you, and I love it! If you're looking for someone maybe you should look around you. I find myself leering at the young-looking boys at my college and wishing I could be with them. I really prefer the younger looking guys, just take a moment to see who's staring at you and hold that eye contact :) Hopefully it'll be me!

On the other hand with the younger people I have always had a problem with this. When I attempt to go out with people 3-4 years younger than me it is hard because many of them haven't felt the pressures of renting your own apartment, holding a job to LIVE, paying $3000 to fix your car, etc. so I have a hard time relating with them and it doesn't go that well.

But since you see it as a problem... hmmm... perhaps you could act like you've been around longer, so you don't seem like that freshman that started early. This can be simple things like improving your posture and gestures to seem more mature, deepening the voice, etc.
Clothes seems easiest but that one was taken already :P

[Ikoas]

I have the same problem here...I am 19 now and I still get carded at the movies...

[Alexander]

I totally agree with nicver

I like being young looking too (and having thick hair and crap) because it's something that a lot of other guys already lost.

[StudMuffin]

Gawd, you're like my life story a year ago... lol. I'm like you in that I'm pretty thin and have a "youthful" looking face. When I was 18, I remember pushin like... 105 pounds at 5'7. I had been in the 100-110 range since about 9th grade lol so it pissed me off, but I took up weight training during the summer of 2007 and have gained 10 pounds of muscle mass, which doesn't sound like much but it IS. Trust me. I look a lot different now than I did back then (physique-wise). I still look pretty young tho... I've been mistaken as a 16-17 year old on occasion and a 15 year old by some older guy, haha, but I think you'd be surprised how many guys are turned on by that. I *hated* looking so damn young, but now I think it's a little easier for me to accept because I've come across guys who actually liked that (and they were HOTT! (!)).

I'm not really sure how much acceptance you have for your looks, but if you want to gain weight or something, perhaps take up weight training and start a bulking diet. Judging from your stats, I'd say you're a hard-gainer, though, like myself. That pretty much means its harder for us to gain weight because of genetics/metabolism/etc. but it doesn't mean we CAN'T gain weight. Then again, there's tons of guys who like smaller men... so, it's all up to you. As far as your youthful appearance, don't fret too much about it. There's not really much we can do anyway, but I'll tell you right now that there are guys who find that aspect to be incredibly sexy. :)