Toro’s had lots of practice being the youngest; she started high school as a skinny, 11-year-old math whiz, and it wasn’t always easy. “I got picked on some, but in general when people get to know me before finding out my age, it doesn’t make much difference. Only if their first impression of me was ‘She’s 11!’ were they kind of hostile,” Toro says. This fall she’ll head off to college (probably MIT) just after she turns 15; she thinks that transition will be easier, even though she’ll probably be the only student who can’t drive, doesn’t drink and has never dated. “My parents trust that I’m the sort of person who does not succumb to peer pressure that much,” she says. “My mom is still kind of worried, but I think that’s just the normal worries that parents have.” Take heart, Mrs. Toro. Winter break will be here before you know it.
