I, standing at 6'0", would consider myself tall for a girl. I’ve always been the tallest girl, if not the tallest person in my class, for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I hated being tall. Especially when some of my friends told me I was too tall to jump rope in third grade. Still the worst recess of my life. And I’ve heard everything there is to hear about tall girls. The nicknames: Ginormica, Jolly Green Giant. I’ve heard them all. So these are all things that tall girls have all experienced at least once in their lives.
The Questions
If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me, “Do you play volleyball?” I could buy myself some athleticism. My response to the question is always "No," and so the person's follow-up question is always “Oh, do you play basketball?” That would also be a no. They then proceed to give me a look that says, “Oh what a waste of height." Hey, I was blessed with height, not sports skills.
The Comments
I have realized people love to make comments about my height. Some of the common ones are, "How tall are your parents?" "Do you have tall siblings too?" or, "Wow, I wish I was that tall." People really need to get more creative with their comments to tall people.
The Heels
I personally love wearing heels. I also personally hate how everyone comments on it. I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that I don’t need heels because I’m already tall enough. No, I do not wear heels for the height. That is what stilts are for. I wear heels because they look good with my outfit.
The Pictures
Group pictures are always a hassle because, generally, no short person wants to stand next to you. God forbid that people know they are actually short and you are actually tall. So you get shuffled around and around the group until you find someone remotely close to your own height. Or people will purposefully stand by you so they can use a clever caption about the height difference on Instagram. I have also mastered the “sorority squat” for pictures. Although I use it so I don’t look as tall as my friends. Because in all honesty, being a head taller than all your friends looks a little weird.
The Clothes
Finding clothes to fit my long limbs is a chore. Pants that are sold in the store are never long enough, so you have to buy the "long" sizes online. But then those come in the mail, and what do you know, they're still too short. Dresses are a pain. Most are so short your butt hangs out the bottom. And rompers give you major camel toe because your long torso pulls it up too high. But then, the tall section of the store is never as cute as the normal section. High waisted shorts and pants are really just mid rise due to our long torsos. My personal favorite though is when people tell me that maxi dresses look so good on tall people. Yeah, they do, but it's just too bad that designers make them to fit 5’7” girls, so us tall girls find it very hard to find a maxi dress that is actually long enough to be a maxi dress and not just an awkward midi dress.
The Boys
First off, let me just say that tall boys and short girls need to stop. You are wasting good height genes and will be sad when your son isn’t over 6'0". I also do not need you to say anything about my height. Please don’t tell me not to wear heels so I don’t look taller than you. Also, do not ever make a girl feel bad about being tall. It's already hard enough finding guys that are taller than us, so we don’t need the ones that are shorter than us giving us crap about our height. It is not our fault that our parents blessed us with the genes that you want.
Even though tall girls go through a lot, there are so many perks. You will always be able to see at concerts. And when girls are annoying you and your friends at said concerts, all you have to do is stand in front of them, and their view is now the back of your head. Nothing feels better when you actually find the maxi dress that is long enough or the pair of high waisted pants that actually come above your belly button. It’s the little successes in life that make being tall all worth it.
