Today I wanted to talk about being short. If you haven't clicked away yet, I promise you'll enjoy this. Some of you reading this don't know me. So I'll enlighten you, I am only 5 feet tall. And no, in the state of California I am not legally a midget. My mom is only an inch or two taller than me, and my dads mom was even shorter than me. So no one was surprised when little tiny Jen popped into the world and stopped growing at 14.
So I think I should write something to let you all know why being a little person is the best thing in the entire world.
- My clothes are much cheaper than yours
When I was 12 and everyone was wearing skinny jeans, I was still shopping in the kids section because stores that sold cool jeans didn't fit me yet. And it was so unbelievably embarrassing! But now? You'd be surprise how much of my clothes are a large in girls. My ugg boots and converse are about half the price of yours because I get them in kids sizes. All my athletic clothes are no more than $5 a piece because they're from the kids section. All my Halloween costumes are from the kids side of the store, and trust me I rocked them! And although I know that one day it won't really be appropriate to wear the same clothes as 6th graders, I'm enjoying it for as long as I possibly can.
-Guys like short girls
I'm not being arrogant here. I didn't say guys like ME. But have you ever heard a guy say "I don't like short girls, I only like tall girls"?? I certainly haven't! When you date a short girl you never have to worry about her being taller than you when she wears heels! You will get to be superman and reach for the things on the top shelf because she can't reach. And you never ever have to worry about picking her up when she falls asleep on the couch, us tiny ones always fit perfectly in your arms! It's a win win with us!
-I'm a walking conversation starter
I can't count how many times I've been approached with "oh my god you're so tiny" or variations of the phrase. And conversation usually goes on from there. I get asked if my family is short, if I'm a midget, when I stopped growing blah blah blah. Even my campers like to talk to me about how short I am. and they're 8!!!! It's always nice having an emergency topic of conversation stashed away in my back pocket. Still waiting to find a cute tall guy to start talking to by having him reach something on the top shelf in the grocery store for me....
-I'm forever young
I will be 20 next month and I still get carded when I see rated R movies. Yes. They don't believe that I am 17. This bothered me more back in high school when I was the new kid and everyone thought I was a freshman instead of actually being a senior. But now I'm starting to find it humorous since most of my friends are turning 21 and on the long awaited day they don't even get asked to show their id. We all know I'm going to get carded for 20+ years. Thanks to sunscreen everyday and genetics, I'm hoping I'll look 40 when you guys are 60.
-It makes me a funny person
I love short people jokes! If you've read my other posts, you know I have no problem calling myself a midget. I joke with my friends about having the body of a 12 year old due to my lack of boobs on my tiny little frame. Most of my friends know that my most popular nickname is Dobby because apparently being little with big ears makes you look like a Harry Potter house elf! And I love socks people so give me one and set me free! Being short and getting picked on a lot made me pretty insecure growing up. I so desperately wanted to look more mature like my friends. But now I own it! And if I don't like it about myself, I turn it into something we can all laugh about together.
-My bar tab is really cheap
When you weigh less than 100 lbs, it doesn't take much to get the party going. Which means I don't have to spend much on alcohol. Besides, I'm a short girl, I don't buy my own drinks ;)
-It helped me figure out what I'm good at
In high school I spent a lot of time focusing on what I can't do. I can never be a super model, I can never be great at volleyball, I can't I can't I can't. I almost didn't compete in one of my pageants because I thought being short and young looking would make me look immature to the judges. But being little made me great at things tall people can't do. I joined my high school cheerleading team and was able to be thrown so high up in the air I could see on top of the gym. I could ditch into my friends science class and hide under the lab table when the teacher was taking roll (not a good thing but whatever). I was put in the age group I wanted at camp because they were the only kids I would be taller than (joking, kind of). But it did make me more relatable to my little ones who I became so close to. If I was 5'9 I would of never been able to experience those things.
I could go on and on about this. I wish I could go back to tiny little Jen in first grade who was sad because she was once again the last in line for the school picture because she was the shortest in the class. I would tell her that it's okay to be little! And the mean boys who picked on you for being a "baby" will grow up to wish the could have a tiny girl like you. It wasn't always easy being 5 feet tall. But I'm so glad I've grown (not literally) to be a girl who is confident with the way I am. If I had the choice to be tall, I wouldn't take it. Because being a small girl in a big world is the best way to be.
Much love,
Jen
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