Guess my age

So either I look like I'm past 50 years old or Rene's math teacher is not doing his job...

"I can totally imagine Ms. Chen partying in college, with a big afro, and those fat high heels. A diamond top-"

"Rene, do you think I went to college in the '70s?"

"You didn't?!"

This somehow evolved into a debate about my age between the five kids that attended 4th period. I let them take a little break while their classmates attended a meeting. They put a lot of discussion into it. I left very vague answers.

"Ms. Chen, how many years have you been teaching?"
"This is the third school I've worked at." (There was the elementary school at UCLA, then training in Houston.)
"And how long did you work in Hollywood?"
"She's gotta be 29, because you're in college for 4 years, then she taught for 3 years, that's 7 years-"
"No, Ms. Chen is not 29! She's like, 25?"

I finally told them I was in my 20s. This revelation resulted in Rene excitedly asking me if I wanted to be introduced to his 25 year old brother. "Ms. Chen, you'll really like him! He has a tattoo all across here!" He gestures to the entire back of his neck. Rene himself has tattoos all across his arms.

I told them that if they reached their Big Goal for test, I'd tell them my age at the end of the year.
"And will you tell us if you're married?"
"Yep."
"And if you have kids?"
"Yep."
"And whatever else we want to know?"
"Within reason."

I love how these simplest things can motivate these kiddos.