Learning to be a tall girl
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 months, tall girl obstacle race, go!
You were born 2 minutes ago but you’re already 22 inches long.
You’re thin as a rail so on every picture of your first day on Earth you look like a starving child from one of these sad TV commercials. But you don’t care. You’re happy, you’re drooling and eating and sleeping is all that matters to you.
Bam. You’re 8 years old. You’re already taller than all your little friends at school but for some reason it doesn’t bother you. Yet.
You hate boys and being taller than all of them is very practical. They annoy and hit the other little girls, but they are afraid of you so they leave you in peace.
Bam. You’re 13. You’re at your first party and you think it’s gonna be the time of your life but the DJ decides to put slow music on for 30 minutes. While all your friends have been invited to dance by a boy, you’re sitting there alone, feeling sad, and awkward. There clearly is a problem here.
Bam. You’re 15 years old. You’re in love with Tom at school. He is super smart. Super funny. Super nice. Or was he until you heard him tell his friends at recess that he would rather bang his old history teacher Mrs. Hartwick than to date a girl taller than him. You’re screwed.
Bam. You’re 18. It’s been 3 years already since you started praying for a taller boyfriend. God seems to be busy because the only guy who’s interested in you is 5’5 and despite him being cute, intelligent, kind, gallant and funny, you don’t give a sh*t. He didn’t fill his quota of inches
Bam again. You’re 23. All of your friends want you to meet all the tall guys they encounter. And actually, you do too. Unfortunately height and intelligence are not correlated.
You keep on praying for the perfect man to come, but when he shows up you pull out your measuring tape and you go back home.
There you watch romantic movies and spend your time on the internet typing the names of actors you fantasize about to know if they are taller than you – just in case you would meet one someday.
But you never meet Keanu Reeves or Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling. All you meet is the 5’6 guy working at the coffee shop at the corner of your street who tells you every morning: “Come here mama come make me your toy boy”. You want to throw up your latte every single time.
And Bam.
Here It is.
Love with a Capital L.
Who would have figured the world would stop on the day you meet that amazing, smart, talented, genuine, sweet, funny, brave, perfect… whoops. Did I say perfect? Let’s take this back for a second. He’s not perfect, he’s shortER!!! By ONE INCH and a HALF!!!
Meeting the shorter version of your dream
I can’t walk in the street with him!
No no no…!! I had said I wanted a TALLER MAN!!! What the hell??? Hey! God!!! That wasn’t the plan!!! Where are you??! Haven’t you received all my prayers??! God??! God!!!!!! God… but he’s PERFECT!!
But… what about spooning?
Oh well, you eventually learn to laugh about it. And it’s cool.
Oh you still have these moments when you try to imagine that he’s taller than you. Even if only for 30 seconds.
But in the end, it’s ALL GOOD.
Well yes tall ladies, my man is an inch AND A HALF shorter than me. He has been for many years and although I sometimes – secretly – wish they would, I don’t think things will change anytime soon. But who cares.
It took me a while to get over feeling like a football player (click to read my story) and dreaming of someone who would make me feel petite and delicate, but I’ve learned to have other priorities, like having someone who makes me feel loved and important.
When I look at the search engine terms in my stats, the ones some young girls typed before landing on my blog, you wouldn’t believe how many times I see things like “I’m a tall girl will I ever find a boyfriend” or “Do guys like tall girls?”.
I’m making no judgement, I’ve been there. But if only these young girls could walk in my shoes for only one second, they would stop worrying. Stop worrying!
Love knows no bounds, love knows no inches, love knows nothing but love. Love without a measuring tape. Love without measure.
Yes, dear tall girl, love comes in all sizes.
Moreover, a study by two sociologists from New York University concluded that… short men make better husbands and more stable marriages! So why deprive ourselves from it?!
And for the men reading this, here’s an article on why shorter men should go after taller women!
My sister-in-law is a good 6+ inches taller than my brother, so I know it’s possible. However, at 5’9″, I don’t feel like I’m tall enough to give up the dream (even with my big, curly hair)! Height isn’t a deal-breaker, but it’s definitely something I’m physically attracted to & not apologetic about- no different from a dude liking big boobs (which I don’t have).
I loved this especially the escalator imagine. This is my life! While I may be only 5’9 its still tall enough to make a difference especially when I wear heels. My issue with short guys hasn’t been that they’re short its that the ones I’ve encountered have had issue with how tall I am and want to tell me I can’t wear heels. If I were to ever come across a short guy who fits all my other criteria like funny, sweet, intelligent, finically responsible etc and the only thing lacking was a few inches and he didn’t care then I wouldn’t either. It’s definitely hard being above average height and having it held against you when it comes to dating so thats how I try to look at it for short guys. Just like it sucks to be passed over for being too tall it must suck to be passed over for being too short.
I’m 6′ (1.80m) and my boyfriend is 5’3 (1.60m). We’re together for almost 4 years now.
The sidewalk comic was the funniest and most accurate :))
Your text is beautiful and… thank you!
I’m still drooling, eating and sleeping a lot. You have the ages of tall girl down. With me there was the point at 12 when I was tallest in my family which bugged my older brother (very handy;), followed by the school coach trying to get me to go out for sports. Then there was going out with the other teens to try on clothing and getting really good at knowing what works for a five foot and a bit fourteen year old and no idea what would work for me if it existed.
An inch is nothing and there are *so* much that is more important. A guy’s height doesn’t make the top ten on my list, but most guys think otherwise. I’ve had so many awful dates with tall loser guys that friends have arranged.
Your posts and cartoons are ace – keep it up!!!
My first husband was sweet, patient, thoughtful, and had an unfailing sense of good humor. He was 5’6″. I’m 6’3″. My second husband is a wonderful human being. He’s 6′ even. I was lucky to find two good men that cared as little about our height differences as I did. But I admit, I had to practice being ok with shorter guys. Like you, I always felt like a football player (even though I was bigger than most of them in high school). I tried dating a guy once because of his height. Big mistake and helped me to learn to focus on finding a good person, rather than a tall person 🙂
Been there,done that.I believe when we are confident and secure in our own person that we realize our height is just one of the beautiful and unique qualities God (and genetics) blessed us with.Then we can open ourselves to love,no matter what differences may exist.Don’t miss out on true love just because they don’t fit your ideal dream man’s desired height measurement.I will never be petite,but I am tall,proud, have a husband that makes me feel feminine and sexy,and am well loved by 2 sons,family and friends.I wouldn’t give that up for anything.
This was absolutely cute and reminded me of my life. Especially being the tallest girl in 1st grade, I hated it! Lol but I eventually got over it I definitely love your blogs.
Awww this is soooo cute. He’s just an inch shorter than u not a big deal. I think ur hair gives u more height (but don’t change it, its really pretty). I’m glad u found someone who appreciates just the way u are. Because u could have found a tall guy u doesn’t even care for u. Best of luck
omg!! I so know what you mean about looking up tall celebs 😛
I’m tall and curly as well and i LOVE your stuff <3
Keep it up! much love from Egypt 🙂
Once again, you’ve hit that proverbial nail right on the head! I’ve done every single one of those things (feeling like a football player? at 6ft and athletic, yeah, pretty much…). I stopped caring about height a long time ago (age will do that to you) and in the end, I got extra lucky and found one taller than me!! I’d love him just as much if he were shorter though 😉