I work at a university, and most of the people who work in my area are college students. Any time we hire a new student, within their first few weeks, I like to play the "how old is Omar" game. From playing this game, two things are very clear to me: 1) college students have no idea how to guess a person's age, and 2) I must look old.

One of my least favorite responses was from a young lady who guessed "definitely 35 or 36" (at the time, I was 28). I've had students guess "mid 30's," but never with such certainty. So I asked her what she based it on. Her response, "that salt and pepper thing you have going on."

Let me explain. Since I was a toddler, I have had a spot in the back of my head that is prone to gray hair. It's not a solid gray patch, but it's enough to be noticeable (though it's not that noticeable in this horrible picture):

grayhair.jpg

Because I never previously had facial hair, I had never noticed until last year that I have a similar such area on my chin (though it's literally only a few gray hairs).

So anyway, I fired her.* Both because it's rude to pick on someone because they have a follicle abnormality, and because I was sensitive about my age.

But now, I wanted to make it known that I'm making an effort to not be sensitive anymore. I turn 30 soon. Very soon. Everyone I know who has already turned 30 is like, "30 is no big deal." My response is always, "of course you'd say that, because you don't like to think about how old you are! You're so old, Barney Rubble was in your preschool class! You're so old, you used to babysit Yoda! No no, wait, you're so old..." Typically by this point, the other person has walked away.

Anyway, my point is that I disagree. Being 30 might not be a big deal, but turning 30 is.

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* No I didn't. But I should have.