On Thanksgiving, I got told that I looked like my mom. Normally, I wouldn't think anything of it, people have mistaken her and I for sisters before, so it wouldn't be the first time, but it was the bit of conversation that led into it that got me thinking.

So, we went to my mom's friend's house for a Thanksgiving dinner, as we had gone to a family member's house for lunch. Towards the end of the night, I had wandered into the kitchen to stay near my mom, because I had heard we were leaving, but didn't know when, it was just "soon". Conversation had drifted, and, after a small, awkward silence, the friend, let's call her V, said that I looked grown-up. Then, she complimented my shirt, saying that the color (purple) suited me because of my skin tone. Then, came the comment about me looking like my mom.

After the comment, my mom made a passing joke about how I got her attitude, and the conversation moved on to other things. And that left me thinking.

First, the comment about me looking grown up. It had caught me off-guard, but it honestly should have been expected. I, for a change, was wearing a form-fitting dress shirt, the same one used for my Halloween costume. I had been wearing a tie, but had given up on it when I found it too annoying while eating. Anyway, people, even if I'm wearing my normal loose clothes, have mistaken me for an older kid, and even an adult. But, coming from V, it caught me. It made me realize that I am only a little over three years away from being an adult, and about three and a half years away from graduating high school. And it fucking terrifies me.

Second, purple suiting my skin tone. I had been told earlier that day that purple looks good on me, but I wasn't sure what it was that made me look good in it, until V mentioned it. Now, as you guys have seen from other pictures I've posted, I have a darker skin tone. Apparently the shade of purple pops against my skin tone, or perhaps the simply compliment each other. Either way, that comment actually bolstered my confidence a bit, surprisingly.

Third, the comment itself. When V said that I looked like my mom, my first instinct was to laugh. We share the same height, eye color, and hair color (except for my blonde streak caused by bleach), but we have different skin tones, far different fashion tastes, and my hair is way shorter than hers. But, as I looked at my mom, I realized that I was kind of growing up to look like her. The largest and most noticeable difference is, again, the hair.

I will try my hardest not to be my mother when I grow up. It's not that I don't admire her, I truly do, but I don't want to try to raise a kid while going to college, and having to rely on my parents to help. In fact, I don't plan on having a kid in the first place. I want to be the kind of person who enjoys their job, and also is able to do cool stuff like go to a couple concerts a year, and maybe a convention or two, too. So, yeah, I might look like her when I get older, but I don't want to be her, when I'm older.

Sorry for the long chapter, here's a Lin-Manuel Miranda post I took a screenshot of: