I'm a Big Kid Now

In the States, I was always assumed to be younger than I am. I got carded last summer to get into an R rated movie. Yeah, in my spare time, I am a 12 year old girl sneaking into Charlie's Angels Two. So, over the years, I have gotten used to being thought of as "young." My brother and I also just realized that we are both well into what is known as adulthood. I was shocked. I don't think of myself as an adult; this is why, of course, I have thrown myself into more schooling. Boo real world, yay youth and irresponsibility. Since getting here, however, I have not been treated as the youth I see in the mirror.

Course approval went utterly smoothly for except for the fact that every queue I entered assumed me to be a graduate student. Yes, okay, I in fact am a graduate student, but I usually have to convince people of that! Then, today, I ventured out to do big girl things. I needed a bank account here in New Zealand. I did it, all on my own. I have never done any kind of banking all on my own (and for good reason!). But, the woman who worked with me for half an hour to set it up ("not as much paperwork as in the States," my fanny) told me numerous times that I seemed quite well set up and planned for. Shocking! No one at a bank has ever been nice to me (and for good reason!). Then, I decided to get insurance, like renter's insurance. This is already more adult than I have ever seemed. I asked her to differentiate the various plans. She explained them all and said, "Most adult renters pick this one because it's considered midrange in price and coverage." So I pointed at the one below it and said, "So I should take this one then?" And she replied, "Well, you can pick whichever one you want, but you could go with the one that the other adult renters pick, too." Shocking!! She was calling me an adult!

You know, if people aren't careful, I'm going to go back to the States in two years really thinking I am an adult. And then where will we be when I get carded to get into an R rated movie?