Possible Career Change

I’ve mentioned before that I have a number of alleged doppelgangers. Apparently there’s something about my appearance that defies nationality, as well.

I had a teacher once who used to tell me I had the “map of Ireland” on my face. A classmate in college said that I bore a striking resemblance to a close friend from her native France. A husband and wife from Georgia (the country, not the state) came up to me on a train platform to ask me if I was Armenian. When I said no, the husband didn’t believe it. He just smiled and said, “Talk to your parents.” (They’re still holding out on me, by the way.) 

My accent has also been cause for speculation over the years. As a kid I had a strong New York accent, which made sense because so did my parents. However, somewhere along the line, I lost it. I can’t explain it. A few people say that they can still tell that I’m a New York, but many others have disputed this.

People started asking me about it in high school. A couple of my classmates asked if my parents were originally from England and that was why I spoke as I did. Nope, Brooklyn and Nassau County. After I told them this, their next explanation was, “Well, it’s because you read so much.”

I can’t even explain the logic of that.

Working in a group project in college, I was asked by my classmates what country I was from originally. It wasn’t that weird of a question, I guess, since the school I went to had a fair number of international students. But, when I said New York, they didn’t seem to entirely buy it. And it was awkward. 

When I moved into my house and got the cable installed, the gentleman asked, “Why do you sound like you’re from Australia and your dad sounds like he’s from New Jersey?” I honestly didn't know how to answer that. Not only was it wrong on both counts, but I didn't say "g'day mate" once....while he was there.

What all this clearly adds up to is that I have the makings of the world’s greatest spy. I apparently look and sound like I could come from every country across the globe. (Except in my head, of course, where I still sound like that three year old girl from Long Island.)

The only thing standing in my way is my total and utter lack of stealth. But how important is that in the long run, anyway? I mean, Maxwell Smart did pretty well without it.