I had an experience this week that truly showed me that, no matter how we perceive ourselves, there are others who see us quite  differently.

While I am admittedly over fifty years old, I do not perceive myself as being “old” or looking “older.” That perception was challenged this week when I stepped onto the subway in Borough Hall, Brooklyn to go to Penn Station. A young girl got up and offered me her seat. I told her it wasn’t necessary that I was fine. She insisted and told me that she would be getting off soon.

I took the seat based on her statement that she was getting off the train soon. After several stops, it became apparent that she was not “getting off the train soon.” In fact, we both got off the train at Penn Station. As we walked off the train together, I asked her why she had insisted that I take her seat. Her response, “My parents always taught me to be respectful of older people.”

Admittedly, by giving me her seat, she was doing a kind deed. But by, indirectly, calling me an older person it absolutely destroyed my own sense that I look younger than I am.

I guess perception is subjective. How do you perceive yourself?