I am a 21-year-old female, and I am around 6'2". Yep, I said 6'2", and no, I don't play professional basketball. I have always been tall. I remember around the 4th grade I towered over everyone that I knew and was always mistaken for being older than I was. This created an interesting situation as I developed as an adult. It is something that was on my mind a lot when I was younger, today I barely even think about it unless it comes up in a conversation. Here are a couple of things that have come up because I have been tall.
You feel like you don't fit in.
To be fair, I'm pretty sure everyone feels like they don't quite fit into society. We all have out-personalities and differences but when you are tall, the world will remind you of this daily. Car backseats, good luck. Washing dishes? Either squat a bit or be prepared for back pain. It's hard to nap on a couch, fit into a standard desk because my knees hit the top. You literally do not fit in certain things. And when you are growing up, seeing that you will not fit in takes a toll on your mental health.
You will hate shopping.
If you look into my closet at the moment, you might notice the overwhelming level of t-shirts or male long sleeve shirts. The main reason for that is that my torso is very long, and they fit. Cute clothing usually isn't long enough or too expensive for a college budget. It's the dilemma of "why does nothing fit me quite right". I have probably hundreds of pictures of my younger self in jeans that were about three inches too short. It is one of those things that you need to accept, because clothing companies may have a plus size section, but finding jeans long enough is very rare.
The jokes and strangers.
How's the weather up there? You must be great at (insert sport here). Etc.. I have heard these time and time again, mainly while I was younger. Depending on the day, you might hear a polite laugh or you might get a dead pan face. For strangers around me, you don't need to come up to me and tell me I'm tall. I've been cornered at the grocery store, to be told by a people that I'm tall. Or get the question of, "Where are you from?". Probably the funniest one, I was grabbing apples from that bin-shelf-thing, and this old women looked at me, leaned over to her (what I'm assuming her granddaughter) and said "That's what the Danish look like." All while staring at me like I am going to jump at them. I had to move to the next section to laugh.
Overall it has been something that has made me who I am. I used to hate it but now it is who I am. If any of you out there struggle with all of the issues that come with this, please know that it does get better. Hopefully one day we will not have to search far and wide for jeans that are long enough. Thank you for reading.
