I have always been the tall girl. It’s consumed so much of my life that it feels almost normal to call it my identity.
I have towered over everyone in my class for as long as I can remember, but it hit peak embarrassment in the early days of middle school. The thick bowl cut (thanks, Mom) and shaggy bangs I sported in all my school pictures wasn’t the worst thing about my appearance. My legs were too long for my body—it looked as though my hands could touch my knees due to my wingspan being about the same length as an average high school boy. Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt at that time. Even with that uncomfortable stage behind me, I still feel uneasy doing normal day-to-day tasks just because I’m a tall woman. Strangers in the most random of places will comment on my height, first asking how tall I am, then acting shocked when I answer that I’m 6’1. If that isn’t embarrassing enough, some people will even go as far as asking how tall my parents are. Then I get asked the question that every single tall person will have answered at least 10 times a week:
“So, do you play basketball?”
When telling them that I do not, in fact, play basketball, they shake their heads and move on, being somewhat disappointed that I’m not using my height for something worthwhile. You would think that this happens rarely, but I find myself being anxious to go to public places because it happens so often.
In the end, yes, I could read off a list of a million bad things about being tall. Jeans will never be long enough, skirts will forever be too short, high heels are only in my imagination, taking pictures with friends is a disaster and dating might as well be a completely different story. But in the end, I have learned to fully embrace and love my height, just like everyone should love the things that make them stand out in a crowd.
Being tall is cool! I can always call dibs on the front seat because my legs are too long to sit in the back, I never have to worry about not getting onto a roller coaster at the theme park, and my friends can always pick me out of a crowd.
Being tall has taught me that there are a million other qualities about me that I adore, and my height should be one of them. Sure, my prom dresses were always too short, and people still gawk at me when I’m buying my groceries at Target, but I love my height, I love being tall and I will absolutely rock my “tallness” with complete confidence … without a basketball in my hand. Embrace whatever it is that makes you stand out in a crowd because it makes you exactly who you are!