Selena Gomez Is "Old" Now, Apparently

Selena Gomez: the picture of youth, right? WRONG. At least according to one expert named Selena Gomez. During an interview with E! promoting her new animated film Hotel Transylvania 2, Selena Gomez said that she was getting old because kids don't recognize her anymore. That must mean that I'm writing this post from beyond the grave, because if at 23 Gomez is "old," then I died a long time ago. But even scoffing at the singer/actress' statement as if I have years and years of experience on her when I'm only 25 makes me guilty of that same feeling of premature aging, and though it is absurd (for both Gomez and myself), it's also a feeling that's almost impossible to avoid. Self-imposed ageism! Ah!

Gomez said the feeling overcame her when she was doing an interview with a little girl who didn't know what Wizards Of Waverly Place was:

It made me so sad [because] I was literally doing an interview with this little girl... and I was like, "You know, when I did the show I was on," and she goes, "What show?" I was like, what's happening? I'm getting old!

Girl, please. You were born in 1992. But can you really blame her? Youth is the name of the game, especially in Hollywood and in the music industry, and Gomez is known for being a young star. She started starring on Wizards Of Waverly Place when she was just a little baby of 15 years old. For someone whose career will be a decade old when she's only 25, it's hard not to feel a little bit like you're getting on in years.

And now, new cool teens are blowing up. Some of the most outspoken voices under 20 are Amandla Stenberg, Kiernan Shipka, Tavi Gevinson, Willow and Jaden Smith, and Lorde... it's hard not to feel jealous of these kids when they have so much time ahead of them, and they're already finding their strong, badass voices at such a young age.

But Gomez is only 23, and she has tons of time ahead of her! I do have to say with the youth obsession (and my own personal bad habit of reading 30 under 30 lists), it's easy to feel like you're behind even before you hit your late twenties. It's important for people of any age to remember that age is relative and everyone moves at their own pace. And apparently, even huge stars like Selena Gomez feel that same sense of insecurity. So, don't blame her for her comment even if it might sounds a little insensitive at first, because a lot of us are guilty of that same way of thinking.

And what's wrong with getting older, anyway?! With age comes wisdom, and Gomez is obviously learning, since she kicked Justin Bieber to the curb. Don't feel bad you're not a teen anymore, Selena. You're only getting better with age.