Finally Realising It's Good to be Tall!

by Suzanne
(UK)

I had always had a love/hate relationship with being tall. As a primary school kid I had enjoyed being taller than all the girls (and most boys!) in my class as it made me stand out a little. I was quite shy and it gave me an opportunity to step forward and be noticed.

There were, however, a few things I didn't like...being called Totem Pole, Beanpole and Lanky Legs for instance...Having to stand in the middle of the boys on the back row for the class photo...having the biggest feet in the whole class until I reached High School for instance.

When with a group of friends who were all some inches smaller than me, I would try and skootch down a bit so I was more on their conversation level and didn't stand tall at all. I always seemed to be trying to make myself seem smaller than I was to fit in.

I do remember being at a teen party once. I was sat in a corner, curled up in a chair when an older boy came in and started talking to my friend. He was puffed up and looking very sure of himself and he was showing off. He turned to me and said something like "Oh, you look like Sarah, but you won't be as tall as her. She's almost as tall as me!"

I looked him up and down and thought, I'm sure I'm taller than you - so I stood up on the pretext of getting another drink and walked past him. His face was a picture - "My god, you're huge!" And although I didn't like being called 'huge', I did smile to myself as I had put him in his place!

The moment I do remember finally deciding to walk tall was the time I was out with a group of friends. I must have been seventeen and still didn't have much self-confidence. There was a guy in the group that I really liked and I was talking to him at one point in the evening. He was about as tall as me and he said something about my height. I pulled a face and looked away and he looked at me and said, "You know lots of women would love to be as tall as you. Lots of beautiful women are tall, so just think you're like Kim Basinger or Sigourney Weaver and have a bit more confidence. It's ok to stand out."

Well, I almost swooned. The guy I really liked kind of implicating that he thought I was beautiful (wow!) and making me realise that being tall can be a real blessing. Now I wouldn't change being tall for anything, I love it and I have finally grown into the person I think I should be. So if you haven't reached the stage where you're tall and proud yet, give it time!