by KAHLA PRESTON
If I were to perform an audit of all the things people have ever said to me, the top three would look something like this:
1. How’s the weather up there?
2. Do you play basketball?
3. How tall are you?
Welcome to the life of a taller-than-average person.
Not a day goes by where my height – around 6ft, if you’re curious – is not acknowledged at least once. Sometimes it’s the helpful stranger who remarks, “Wow, you’re tall!” (Really? Well, why has nobody pointed that out to me before?); other days it’s the tiny old lady who needs a hand reaching the top shelf in the supermarket.
Look, I won’t deny that there are benefits to being tall. I’ve never had to raise the hem on my jeans, I rarely have visibility issues at concerts, and strangers often assume I hail from some exotic Nordic location. I don’t, by the way – although it’s fun to pretend, jah?
But there are also many, many shortcomings (not literally, you understand).
Plane, train and bus travel becomes a lesson in contortion. Big feet, that require shoe sizes that rarely exist. Door frames loom perilously close to the top of my head. And it’s impossible to hear my petite friends when they talk amongst themselves in noisy locations, meaning I have to perform my best Quasimodo impersonation and stoop over.
Alas, I’m not alone – Buzzfeed feels the pain of my people. They’ve compiled this handy gallery of all the inconveniences of being a giant among mere mortals, which is so overwhelmingly relatable I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Do you have a physical feature that people constantly comment on?
Top Comments
I'm 5"11' so not THAT tall, but yes, tall, I think I look taller because I am really slim, and much more leg than torso. The way things are going though, I regularly see taller girls even much taller girls, so is it really that comment worthy? I understand the occasional comment from someone in general conversation or after reaching something on a high shelf for a stranger, but not just out of the blue "s@#* you're tall", not that freakin tall mate...
But spare a thought for the tall girl, because you can take the hem up on jeans that are too big, but you can rarely take them down. Suit pants seem to be the only pants that allow extra fabric for the "shockingly" tall woman. My sister is taller than me, about 6" maybe a tiny bit over, and she has to roll her jeans up and wear 3/4's all year round because they are too short in the leg for her, and I really struggle to find jeans that I can wear with flats, let alone with heels. Lucky for me, I didn't get the big feet to go with it so shoes are no drama, in fact, I'm a fairly dainty 7.5 women's, and can wear most shoes, whilst she compliments those 3/4's with her havianas 365 days a year, maybe the small feet and shocking height explain my incredible uncoorodination and the reason that I don't play basketball...
I love this article. I am 5'10 and always get the "How tall are you?' question. I hated it in my 20s but now in my thirties I am a little more comfortable.
I was always determined to find a really tall man as I love feeling feminine and small (it is a huge novelty) but my partner is 5'11... so not so tall after all. But... I love him and I figure at least it means my kids won't be super tall so I won't have to worry about them dealing with the same insecurities.
I love finding woman who are my height and taller... there is a true instant bond... and it is so easy to hear what they are talking about!!