<p>Tried and true comeback, used by my entire family of young/small height people with angel faces (male and female), looking too young our entire lives for what we do:</p>
<p>World: “You are x age? You sure don’t look x age!”
Us: “I know. I hear that a lot. Fortunately, time will cure it.” And really smile broadly on that last sentence. Practice in a mirror.</p>
<p>Those first 2 sentences allude to your own actual age and assert that you have experience. The last sentence shows you have a sense of humor about it all. Older people know the phrase, “time will cure it” so this twist works well.</p>
<p>Since you’re only a few weeks into the work, coworkers may just be getting accustomed to you, so don’t get discouraged over this. I think after a while, they’ll figure out if your work ability outstrips your age appearance, and that’ll just be you. The person who bothers you most is another story, but for the general office crowd this may be so. </p>
<p>You’re getting good advice about dressing, hair, etc. You could keep one set of shoes at the office and use another to run to the bus. If you’re very short, try platform shoes or shoe-boots for office wear that are flat across the bottom, but elevate you. NOT spike heels; I mean a platform that elevates you by some 3-4 inches equally under the heel and ball of your feet. These can make a difference psychologically when you are closer to eye level with more people. Rubber soles are quieter and less clunky-sounding. It’s not for everyone, but some like to do platforms. Others wear lifts inside of their shoes or shoe-boots.</p>
<p>anon1989 - are you carrying a backpack to work? If so, what do other employees in the office use?</p>
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Around here, you need boots in the winter, so a lot of women carry their work shoes in a tote and change at the office. </p>
<p>Funny story, my very first day at my first professional job after college I went to work in a new pair of white pumps with lacelike insets. That morning we had a record 2 inches of rain in a very short time and when I got to the parking lot the water was 2 inches deep everywhere. I ran for the office in the pumps, which got soaked, unglued and reglued themselves and were never the same again. :)</p>
<p>Sorry, I completely missed replying to this thread earlier!</p>
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I love that! I will have to practice 
</p>
<p>I also really like the idea of keeping a fancier pair of shoes at the office. I used to have a locker when I biked to work at my last job, and it was so easy to change into “work clothes” while I was there, and then back to “normal clothes” on my way out. Would be very easy for me to slip on work shoes when I get to work, and regular sneakers for the rest of the time.</p>
<p>I’m not carrying a backpack, now, but have been experimenting with different bags recently. I started off with a smaller Timbuk2 messenger bag (very common on campus here, but might also be adding to my “college student” image). Ended up being too difficult to fit my iPad, Kindle, lunch, and everything else in the little bag though, so tested out a backpack for a few days. The backpack was very uncomfortable for me (I think it was designed for somebody with a bigger frame). After noticing bruising and soreness near my collarbones and shoulders, I switched back to a bigger messenger bag. It’s not that comfortable either, but fairly professional I think (a gift from my old job, so just a basic bag with the company’s name front and center)…</p>