Face it. We all judge people based on their looks. Many of us make it a comfortable pastime as we sip coffee or eat at our favorite restaurant. And don't deny it, we are vicious and bitchy at times when appearances fall short a meter or two from "typical" or "pleasingly ordinary".
A show on TLC actually makes people come face-to-face with one of their worst nightmares: they are not what they think they look like.
10 Years Younger invite people who are still in denial to step into a soundproof display case in the middle of the two most appearance-driven cities in the world--Los Angeles and New York City. The host randomly asks complete strangers to critique the participant's looks and guess his/her age. In the studio afterwards, the participant hears the heartbreaking revelation from the strangers' comments and their guesses about the age. (Hey, I know all too well how heartbreaking it is). This is where a team of stylists (fashion, hair, and makeup), doctors, and dentists, endeavor to make the participant look at least a decade younger in a matter of ten days.
After this, the participant once again subjects him or herself under the vicious criticisms of strangers after a grueling week of trying to look and feel younger. In order to grab a mediocre form of happiness from comments about themselves looking somewhat closer to their real age or even younger.
The upkeep and maintenance must be hell.
But I find myself wondering how our Chinese genes faltered on me, somewhat, these past few months. I no longer fool the majority of people who once "carded" me or figured me to be at least 5 years younger than my real age.
I'm supposed to be on my vacation now, and I'm wondering how those age-multipliers creeped up on me... Was it stress from my thesis? (Although, I definitely feel like someone from those Stresstabs commercials). Or is it some other bizarre occurrence that happens nightly without me knowing--aliens? (I shudder).
Although, this hasn't really been an isolated incident. It's happened even when I was younger. I hadn't tapped into those Chinese genes of ours then. So, it was a shock to me when complete strangers and even friends who saw pictures of me just the year before (even just a month before I left), told me that I look older.
What has this vacation done to me?!
Sigh... All I know is that I'm looking forward to getting a haircut once I get back to the Philippines. That'll at least help take some of the years off...
Ok, back to my afternoon siesta.
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