A little middle-school of me, maybe...

I've written before about how frustrated I am when someone tells me how young I look.  I KNOW.  Got it.  Thanks.  Before conferences, I agonized in this post about my attempt to pick out an outfit that makes me look my age at the very least.  So, as you can see I am very self-aware of how I appear to my students and their parents, and do my best to at least look my age at school MOST of the time.  Anyways, the other night I came straight from the gym to meet my dad at costco for some shopping.  (There's something about buying wholesale in bulk that just gets me excited!!)  In true post-workout fashion, I had a scrubbed, make-up free face, a ponytail of sweaty hair, and sweats on.  No problem for a grocery store run!  (Sorry, Stacey and Clinton, but we don't ALL feel the need to get dolled up for grocery shopping!)

Well...then I spotted one of my former students and her mother walking towards me and my dad!  The mature, adult, professional thing of me to do would have been to go up to them with a big smile and say, "What a surprise!  How have you been, Mrs. Student's Mother?" I'd like to say I did that...but suddenly I was all too self-aware of the fact that I was dressed like a slob, appeared about 12 years old, and was shopping with my daddy.  Ummm...maybe NOT the best moment to be schmoozing parents!

So obviously, I took the MATURE, middle-schoolish approach...avoided eye contact and walked away QUICKLY before either of them could realize that this young girl had been the daughter's TEACHER last year!  Oh my...

Does this make me look 12?

Oh dear.  My one and only goal for the night was to go to bed by 10.  It's 10:24.  EPIC FAIL.  I started off on the right track, I swear...I tore myself away from House Hunters on HGTV by 9:45 and headed upstairs to start getting ready for bed.  Brushed my teeth, washed my face, etc. etc. etc...then, I went into my closet to change into jammies.  That's when everything went downhill...

It started off innocently enough..."I should pick out something to wear tomorrow...Hmmm...*browses clothes that are plentiful yet never seem to match/fit the occassion/fit the weather/are what I want to wear...* What to wear..."  I proceeded to pull items off hangers and hold them up against each other for a good 15 minutes.  See, normally picking out clothes isn't that big of a deal.  Sure, when I have extra time that I should be using for sleep (like tonight...), I tend to over analyze and enjoy rooting around in my closet in an attempt to put together a marginally nice outfit.  But most days I can pick something out pretty quickly.  Who am I trying to impress anyways, the kids?

Well, this week is a different story.  It is PARENT CONFERENCE WEEK (ahhh!!!).  That means I will be on display for 24 sets of parents/family members.  It also means that I better not look 12.  See, all teachers end up under the scrutinity of well-meaning parents on conference days.  But 23 year old teachers have an added challenge: attempt to look old enough to BE a qualified teacher so that when you're talking about their children, the parents don't wonder if YOUR parents know where you are at this time of night.  This is a problem for any 23 year old teacher, but if you're a 23 year old teacher who happens to look about 19 on a GOOD day, and about 16 when wearing a ponytail, things can get a little tricky....this leads to much time spent trying to put together the "right outfit."

It all comes down to, "What kind of teacher do I want to look like?"

• Do I want to be "professional teacher" in dress pants, a formal-looking button down, and heels?  
• Or maybe "trendy workplace teacher" in a pencil skirt, dress top, and chunky trendy necklace?
• What about "cutesy teacher" in a polka dot top and plain skirt?
• Then there's "functional teacher" in pants, flats, and a sweater, because the reality of conferences is that I will be nonstop talking with parents until 8pm and better be comfortable?
• Or I could be "stereotype teacher" in a cardigan, denim skirt, and some sort of cutesy accessory? (no, I have no apple pins, but the cardigans are a basic staple in my wardrobe...am i already THAT TEACHER??)

The list goes on... Well, as conferences aren't until Thursday, I have some more time to give this dilemma some thought.  I only started thinking about it tonight because I do have one conference tomorrow morning for a parent who couldn't attend Thursday's marathon conferencearama.  In any case, I have 5 outfits pulled from my closet to mix and match as needed this week.  I will keep you posted on which teacher I "show up as" Thursday.

And in the spirit of not looking 12 for my first conference tomorrow morning, I better head to bed so I have time to shower and straighten my hair tomorrow...Nothing says professional like a dirty ponytail with scraggly bangs bobby-pinned all over... :)

A few of the options...

um, perhaps I should rethink this outfit

In July (which feels a million years ago), I blogged about the second grade student in my summer gifted program who told me I looked "about 14." Those of you who know me know that it's one of my pet peeves for people to think I'm younger than I am. I guess I don't want people to think I look OLD, but I'd at least like to look my age! Anyways, I feel like I am constantly getting carded or given weird looks when I say I've actually finished college and have a job. When I'm trying to represent myself as an adult and a professional in my school, it makes me CRAZY for people to think I look young! (Yeah, I know. I do look young. No need to point it out...)

ANYWAYS, this morning, I had a flashback to July when a student commented upon seeing me in the hallway before school, "Miss Teacher, you look like a teenager today! You look 16!"

Me: "Oh...well, I'm not..."

The irony??? I was wearing the same outfit as the "You look 14" incident from summer. Who knew Ann Taylor bermuda shorts and pearl earrings translate to teenager. I'm never wearing a headband again... :)