Life is Short, Butts Don't Stay Cute Forever and Your 20s Fade Fast.

Being a young twenty-something is arguably one of the best times in one’s life. You are the envy of those around you as you strut through life with no real commitments – no kids, no spouse, no mortgage, all while still being able to fit into that hot pair of jeans you wore in college. Life is great as a young twenty-something, isn’t it? Well, you may have very little commitment and a hot butt, but something that I have personally experienced as a young adult is the incredible prejudice people have towards those more youthful than them.

Age discrimination, also know as ageism, is something that truly has impacted me since graduating from college. A college student comes with their share of stereotypes and I accepted those because lets face it, college students are livin’ the easy life unaware of the harsh realities that await them in the real world. But here I am, two years out, and I’m still judged and mistreated like a 15 year old girl in a high-end department store assumed to have sticky fingers.

I experience ageism the most when I’m by myself making a face-to-face transaction of any kind. This blows my mind because I am not a slob and if I’m out shopping for nice things, chances are is that I’m wearing something nice and at the very least, LOOK like I can afford the items around me. If I were wearing Sponge Bob flannel pajama pants with an oversized sweat shirt while perusing the Gucci handbags at Nordstrom’s, then sure, discriminate all you want, but I’m one pulled together chick, if I may say so myself, and since our society is pretty superficial, you’d think I would at least be given the benefit of the doubt and not get dished the youthful biases that are so often thrown my way.

The worst experience I ever had that displayed ageism at its horrendous finest, was when I tried to return a designer bag at the store formally known as Marshall Field’s. Now before you go any further, please know that this is a TRUE story.

I was given a beautiful bag for my new job as a graduation gift, which then began to fall apart after one month, and call me picky, but I think a $700 tote bag should be able to withstand at least 30 days in Chicago. Long story short, when I tried to return the bag with the receipt, original tags and all, I was humiliated as the manager claimed that I obviously was “abusing” the bag and was way “too young” to have such a designer perched on my shoulder to begin with. I felt like she was going to call social services for accessories and have my purse rights taken away. I couldn’t believe it.

I stood at the register completely tongue tied as shoppers began to stare at me as this manager, with terrible roots may I add, used my youth against me. And keep in mind that I was returning this bag during a break from work, so I was wearing a very polished, business casual outfit and even tried to flash my security badge for my building to reinforce to this store manager that I working WOMAN. In fact, I KNEW that my salary as a junior level employee most likely exceeded what she was currently earning as a haughty-taughty manager for a store that should have never been bought out in the first place. What’s worse is that I naturally look “more mature” and even my voice and the way I speak is often mistaken as belonging to someone 10 years my senior, so she must have seen my cute butt and determined that I HAD to be a young twenty-something.

This experience scarred me for life, but it did prepare me for the winding road of ageism ahead both in my personal and professional life, and while I have decided to boycott this particular store, I have figured out that if you can’t beat ‘em, trick ‘em – my secret weapon is to hide behind a phone or email at first, to allow my talents be noticed before my youthful glow.

I determined that this mysterious "woman behind the curtain" approach works well well for me as in my career, I have spent a lot of time behind a desk either emailing or making phone calls. In fact, I have a state-of-the-art headset that allows me to talk on the phone, type an email and eat Cheez-its all at the same time. I have worked with some people consistently for almost two years and have never met with them face-to-face, which has greatly helped my youthful battle, because our faceless interaction leads them to believe that I should have children in college when in all actuality, they would be shocked to learn that just two years ago, I was just a kid in college myself. When I do finally meet with those I work closely with, they are often taken back by my apparent age, but I hope they think to themselves, “DAMN. This girl is young, but is she professional and able to deliver me good results! She obviously won’t be retiring soon, so she’ll be making my life easier for a loooong time.”

So if you’re a young twenty-something experiencing random, unfair bouts of ageism, I recommend you find your secret weapon, whatever that may be and use it to your advantage. But never try to diminish your youthful spunk just to appease those around you who may underestimate your worth. I’m mature, I’m capable and yes, I happen to be young, but I don’t think my age should be used against me. Life is short, butts don't stay cute forever and your twenties fade fast -so, no matter how old you are, stand tall, appreciate your age and conquer the world one ageist at a time.