Ahjeossi

We were all walking home from our mandatory British culture lecture class when all of a sudden Joan blurted that I have an ahjeossi (아저씨) -- old man in Korean -- vibe about me. I laughed it off, thinking she was joking until Ali came out of nowhere and chimed in "Yeah, you are like an ahjeossi!!!" To make matters worse, Joan adds more fuel to the fire by letting me know "Karen thinks you act like an ahjeossi too," despite the fact that Karen is older than me and is also one of my BAP mentors. According to Joan, 'everyone' thinks I am like this (although I highly doubt 'everyone' talks to Joan).

So what gives? Is it my face? The way I walk? Is it the glasses? Perhaps it's how I talk to people. I don't nag a lot, do I? (If I do, I get that from my mom and my dad.) Is there an aura of maturity that emanates from my body? Maybe what it all comes down to is my hair -- should I make it look 'younger' and 'hipper'?

I don't know whether or not to take this statement in stride or if I should be sincerely concerned for my inner child. On one hand, this means I carry myself maturely, seem more worldly, and have a sort of je ne sais quois debonair attitude about me. On the other hand, this also means people feel I'm an ahjeossi when I'm only nineteen.

This is all very confusing. I must be facing one of those mid-life crises 30 years prematurely.

-Emoinacloset