I'm not young!

I can't stand being called "young"! Why do people keep insisting on applying their timeline of level of maturity to me? Come to think of it, since the beginning of this year, all the new friends I've met are older than me, from just graduated to 10 years older. But lately, people are so quick to judge and say, oh, you're still a kid, as soon as they found out my age. Which they tend to ask early on, since I look young. In the U.S., the youngest I've been called is a 12-year old boy. They wondered why I was out on the street so late at night! I've attributed that to the Asian factor and the gender expression factor. But apparently, I look young here too. People keep guessing that I'm 16 or so. Telling people that I'm 20, almost 21, doens't help much. One of my apartment-mates said to me, "your eyes look really innocent, like you haven't had much life experiences yet." That didn't actually bother me because she made that ridiculous guess w/out knowing me at all, and I'm confident enough in my own knowledge that I have had a more interesting life and more maturity than most other people my age. I care more when the 27-year old lesbians I've been trying to befriend call me a "young'en" though. If I protest how they think I'm a kid, then I'd just seem more like an insecure young'en who's struggling for adult recognition and approval. But it's not like I can break out into a speech and start listing the "evidences" and life "events" I've had to prove otherwise. That'd just seem obnoxious. Really, I just need them to take me seriously! Grrr.