Tonight I have a serious problem to discuss. It’s something
that I’ve thought about a lot over the years, it’s something that people
constantly ask me about and I just laugh it off and change the topic but
somewhere deep down it does bug me a teeny tiny bit so I decided that I would
finally talk about this.
Good evening toastmasters and welcome guests… tonight I
would be answering a question that I haven’t answered before… “How does it feel
to be a really short person?”
- And before you go “Whoa! Is this even an actual thing…?” let me introduce you to some real and tad bit awkward questions that I have been asked over the years…
- - Some people are pretty straightforward… They don’t beat around the bush. They directly come up to me and ask me “Wow! You are really short! Don’t you wish you were taller?”
- - Or the witty ones will go “How is the weather down there?” Seriously?
- - Some are seriously concerned and they ask… “Didn’t you hang from beams when you were young?”
- - Or the Indian version of it… “Didn’t your mom give your Complan?” (Complan is a nutritional drink which supposedly increases height)
And don’t even get me started on the jokes…
- - In my college days, my friends and I were called the penguin gang… and to paint you a word-picture… yes, we were all of a similar height and no you don’t have to be of my height to be my friend but hey whatever… penguins are extremely cute!
- - Not to mention… every time I go to a club or a bar, I’m asked to show my ID card… Not anyone else in the group… just me. As if somebody has tagged their kid sister along. And when I try to explain that I am old enough and married… they always respond with… “Aww but you look like a kid… you should be happy about it”… Well sure, give me a drink in my hand first and then I will be happy about it.
- - And it’s just my luck to have come to a country where people are even taller than they were back home… yes I am looking at all of you… Sometimes I feel like there should be two of me stacked on top of each other to reach a normal height!
- - And I haven’t even got to the part about shoes… Here’s a secret… I have to sometimes buy shoes from the kiddie section because apparently there are no adult shoes below size 5. Good luck trying to get high heels in the kiddie section…
Now before everyone starts feeling sorry for the poor lil’ me,
well things were not always so bad… There was a time when even I was at the
back of class photographs and my mom was complaining that she had to buy new
school uniforms each year. But then… tragedy struck and I stopped growing… well
vertically at least. And thus began the years of torture…
As I was reading more about difficulties faced by short
people in this ‘oh great big world… I came upon the term “heightism” … discrimination against people with short height.
People tend to take you less seriously when you are trying to make a point and
make a face which is like ‘run along lil’ girl’. There are certain professions
you can’t even get into… yes my dreams of being a model were shattered…
shattered I tell you! My husband hides things on top of cupboards if he doesn’t
want me to get to them… So please… the next time you think of doing any of
those things remember, you may be discriminating!
Like with any situation, being short can have plenty of
advantages! … Just think of travelling on flights, trains, buses… I don’t need
extra leg space… I just crawl up in my seat and I’m good to go! I’m always in
the front of photographs, there is no chance of getting covered up! No bed is
too short for me and even a couch will do just fine. Not to mention when I am
at any crowded concert, I can just weave my way through crowds and nobody even
notices… in fact they help me move to the front!
So to all short people out there… Just hold your head up
high, just ask someone taller to reach for the stuff you can’t and remember,
even short men can cast long shadows!
Thank you.
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