Some days I’m tempted to leave the house with bedhead simply because it adds a few extra inches to my height. If you combine two inches of hair and three inches in high heels, I might actually reach 5’5″. Of course, that would mean I’d be leaving with bedhead, and ending the day with a broken ankle. The truth is that when you are only five feet tall, even adding three-inch heels still leaves you short.

People often ask me how tall I am. When I tell them, the next thing they usually say is “I thought you were taller than that!”

That’s because I have a very tall personality.

There are, of course, challenges to being “under-tall.” Short girls struggle with some day-to-day things.

  • Top shelves are practically useless to us. (My top kitchen shelves hold those things I seldom use…and don’t usually remember that I have.)
  • We always need help in stores to reach things that normal-height people can reach easily.
  • Our feet never touch the floor in restaurants.
  • Every dress, skirt, and pair of pants needs to be shortened.
  • You’re in the front row of every group photo you are ever in.
  • You can get lost in a crowd of children.
  • You can get claustrophobic in a crowd of adults.
  • You can never see the stage or screen in a theater.
  • Running into a doorknob leaves bruises on your upper arm.
  • You are everyone’s armrest.
  • You can never see through the peep hole in a hotel room.
  • Bar stools are difficult, if not impossible, to sit on.
  • You need a step stool to get into trucks.
And sometimes you can't see your reflection in restaurant mirrors.

And sometimes you can’t see your reflection in restaurant mirrors.

But it’s not all bad. There are a few perks, too.

  • Almost every dance partner you ever have is taller than you…even when you’re in heels.
  • No one ever expects you to reach things for them.
  • It’s not as far to fall if you trip over anything.
  • Nothing is ever too short for you to wear.
  • Legroom on an airplane or other public transport isn’t an issue.
  • Your feet never hang off the end of any bed.
  • Similarly, napping on a couch is never a problem.
  • You are seldom anywhere where you might bump your head.
  • Smaller shoe sizes mean you can sometimes buy children’s shoes at a lower price.

Even so, here are a few pieces of advice for average-height and tall people when working with us shorties:

  1. We may be the perfect height to use as an armrest – but don’t. (Or we’ll bite you in the knee.)
  2. You don’t need to remind us how short we are. We are well aware. (And we will refrain from asking how the weather is “up there.”)
  3. Don’t squat down to talk to us. We are used to being short. We never get used to being patronized.
  4. Don’t assume we can’t do something. We will tell you if we need help or need to opt out.

I don’t mind being short. Just don’t ask me to play basketball.

Your bedheaded blogger,
Michelle