For as long as I can remember, I've been 6 feet tall. After a solid decade of telling everyone that I was only 5'11, I eventually realized that leaving the 5-Foot-And-Change club wasn't going to destroy my life. A revelation. And thanks to years and years of dealing with people commenting on my height, being able to reach all top shelves, and transforming 90 percent of jeans into capris instantly, I've had a few other revelations as well. First of all: Being tall can be kind of great. According to The Atlantic, tall people even make more money overall. Plus, we're just generally better human beings who are more attractive, successful, and intelligent than everyone else. OK, I may have made that last one up.
The crazy thing about being a 6-foot-tall woman is that I'm a over half a foot taller than the average woman in America. Put me in a pair of four-inch heels and I'm about 1,239 inches taller than the entire population of the universe stacked on top of one another. Give or take a few inches on that last statistic. Like a lot of tall girls I know, I've gone through the awkward teenage years and I've had a lot of "If I was only just a few inches shorter" conversations with myself in the mirror. But now, at 22, I've mostly come to realize that being tall is part of who I am, and that I shouldn't have to apologize or feel bad about it. However, that doesn't mean that being tall isn't still a pain sometimes — especially when it seems to constantly invite comments from average-sized people that range from weird to just plain rude. Here are 25 things tall girls are tired of hearing, before you even start to bring up sports.
1. "Wow, you're tall."
This is the number one thing I always get told when people first meet me, before anything else. Do people say something similar when they meet really short people? No. No, they don't.
2. "Do you play volleyball?"
No.
3. "Do you play basketball?"
My theory is that all tall people have one sport that they were forced into because of their height and stuck with it for longer than they would have otherwise. Basketball was this for me in middle school and high school. When I tell people this, the next question almost always follows...
4. "Can you dunk?"
I hate you.
5. "Do you play tennis?"
Nope.
6. "Do you play golf?"
NOPE.
7. "Do you row?"
What? Like that thing they do in The Social Network?
7. "You're huge."
Wait, what?
8. "You make me feel so short."
Oh, really? I do? OK, let me leave the room. Anything for you. Except no.
9. "Do you really need to wear heels?"
Do you really need to talk? No. OK.
10. "You're so brave to wear heels."
Thanks. Right up there with firefighters, really. Just me and my heels. Saving the day, one giant stride at a time.
11. "Can you even wear heels?"
I have feet. So yes.
12. "Being tall isn't bad. Models are tall."
Everyone says this. It doesn't matter if clearly don't look anything like a mainstream model. They still say it. It's all they have to go on.
13. "How tall are your parents?"
OK, this is just weird.
14. "Is it hard to find guys who are taller than you?"
Is it hard to find people that will hang out with you?
15. "How tall are you exactly?"
One million inches tall.
16. "Where do you buy clothes?"
Stores? How about you?
17. "Everything is so short on you."
Yes, but can you wear dresses as shirts on the daily? No. I win.
18. "Do you just wear flats all the time?"
Sigh.
19. "Was high school hard for you?"
High school kind of sucks for everyone, guys.
20. "Wow. You don't look that tall in photos."
And you don't look annoying. Yet here we are.
21. "I know a friend/sister/cousin/ghost/invisible friend/celebrity who is __ tall."
Oh, really? Cool! Maybe I'll invite them to my support group.
22. "What size shoe do you wear?"
Excuse me, what?
23. "How tall is your significant other?"
Oh, you're not interested in what they're like as a person? If they're nice? Just their height? OK.
24. "Have you dated a lot of people who are shorter than you?"
Why is my love life so important to you?
25. "Wow. Your kids will be giant."
And they will have a really, really fabulous mother who teaches them how to love themselves no matter what stupid people ask them stupid questions. *DROPS MIC*
Maybe being around someone who's insanely tall when you're average height or a little shorter can be a little weird or make you feel self-conscious.... but we have feelings too! And there are so many other more interesting things we could be talking about other than my physical appearance so, let's just skip all the other stuff, shall we? And no, I won't play on your basketball rec league.
Images: Giphy (25)
