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I'm a 23-year-old girl and I’m an immigrant living in Canada, I've been trying my best to adapt to the culture here and make a good impression on the people around me, especially my colleagues.
Today, I noticed one of my colleagues had a different hairstyle. She normally wears her hair down, but today she had it tied up. I genuinely thought it looked really cute, so I said, "I really love your hair today, you look much younger."
She replied, "Oh? I'll take that."
The way she said it was a little awkward, so I immediately started worrying that I had accidentally implied she usually looks old. Trying to explain what I meant, I added, "Whenever I tie my hair up, I also feel much younger, like a teenager."
She just gave me a small smile, and then the conversation ended. Now I'm worried I made it even worse. Maybe comparing someone to a teenager sounds childish instead of youthful? I don't know.
I know I tend to overthink things, but I'm a huge people pleaser, and the idea that I might have unintentionally hurt someone's feelings makes me feel awful. I'm also still learning Canadian workplace culture, and I sometimes wonder if commenting on someone's appearance, even as a compliment, isn't as common here as it is where I'm from.
She's been with the company for a long time, while I'm brand new, so now I'm irrationally worrying that she'll think I'm weird or even mention it to other colleagues.
TL;DR: I complimented my coworker's new hairstyle and told her she looked much younger with it. Her response felt a little awkward, and now I'm worried I accidentally implied she normally looks old. Am I overthinking this, or did I commit a workplace faux pas?
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