Short Yet Steady

If there’s one thing that I wish I could change about my body, it’s my height. I’m only close to 5 feet tall and for a guy that is extremely short. Being short has many disadvantages. Girls will usually be attracted to taller guys. Being short also means that I will always have the sense and feeling of being a lesser person or not as masculine when compared with taller men. It’s not a surprise that at 29 years of age, I’m still single and available.

Height has always been my problem and girls seem to always reject me whenever I go out for a blind date. So far all of them were actually taller than me and there were never any follow-up calls whenever I tried to reach them again. It can be frustrating at times and the worst part is, there is nothing that I can do about it. Unlike having thin lips or flabby cheeks being short means there is no surgical correction available. Being short has its disadvantages while being at school and at work as well. During my teenage years when I had already stopped gaining height, it was very depressing when each and every one of your buddies seemed to pass me in height overnight. Now I was destined to look at their shoulders and chest from my eye level. This has affected me emotionally and I was often teased that led to me to having low self-esteem. Today being at work also means more or less the same problem. Bosses seems to have that unsure feeling towards me and sometimes feel bullied upon.

Another thing I don’t like about being short is that there are certain sports I may never get involved in. Basketball has always been my favorite and since middle school I no longer play it due to my height disadvantages. There are actually many types of athletics I can participate in. Sigh…the list seems to be endless. Being short also means that I can’t reach higher spots like the kitchen cabinets and at times it’s quite embarrassing to see me reach for the chair to reach the cup placed at the top spot.

After all these years being short I’ve learned to accept things the way they are. I always try to lift myself up by saying that being short makes me steadier on my feet. For instance, standing in a moving bus I am pretty solid on my feet but I notice all the taller folks struggling to balance. This is just somehow a little comfort for me while I try to get myself to accept things as they are. Hopefully I will one day meet my dream girl. Hopefully there is a short girl out there for me somewhere.

Derek, 29, short and steady.