I’m four feet and eleven inches tall. Well, five feet exactly when I wear shoes, but that’s not the point. Long story short, I have had a lot of difficulty being taken seriously when it comes to anything in life. I still get handed the kids menu at restaurants (which I don’t mind because I love to color, and those games are pretty fun, honestly), people treat and talk to me like a child who does not know much even though I’m nineteen and at a top 20 university, and it is sometimes difficult to get a job because employers think that size correlates to how good of a worker I am. As a woman in science who plans on becoming a surgeon, I’ve had to deal with a lot of condescending people who constantly question my abilities. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s experienced this. So, I’m here to let all you little women out there know that we are powerful and more than capable.
I have learned to even further embrace my height (or lack thereof) while attending Oxford college. Not ONCE has a professor or another student let out a snide comment or crack a joke in order to get the class to laugh. Although I need a step-stool to fill my buret in chemistry, not a single person has gawked or snickered at me. I don’t feel like I’m being stared at when I cross the quad or walk through the dining hall, and this has further boosted my confidence. Others expect the same amount of work and results from me as they would any other student, regardless of height, race, gender, or literally any other factor. I’m not afraid to volunteer and go in front of the class to write on the board in case I might not be tall enough to reach the equation, and I’m more than happy to go out on stage and belt my heart out without worrying that I look like a small dot in comparison to the rest of the building. Oxford has helped me embrace my height. Oxford has shown me why my height makes me unique and beautiful in a different and happy way. I’ve learned that those who make fun of my height just don’t understand and have so much more to learn, and that they shouldn’t bother me. Their opinions aren’t even blips on my radar.
My self-esteem is higher, and I am much more happy now that I’ve learned to accept things that cannot change. Instead of viewing them in a negative light, I see how things can work to my advantage or how they make me special. I am my own person, and I shouldn’t want to change anything about me. I’ve met others who take me seriously and don’t question my abilities, and I know other petite people will find those people too.
Those who judge just do not understand. There is no reason you should agree with the ridiculous opinions of someone else that doesn’t see that someone short like me is fully capable of setting the bar. If nothing works out, though, I’m totally down for teaming up with all my vertically-challenged friends and stacking up to form a giant person to take over the world.
In the words of William Shakespeare: “though she be but little, she is fierce.”