This I believe in the power of acceptance.
I have always been the girl in my class to be last in line when lined up from tallest to smallest, always needed help to reach the top crafts on the shelf in art class, and was asked if I needed a kids menu until I was 17. I can confidently say that I have definitely been a decent amount shorter compared to all the girls in my grade.
Now, I feel being short is what makes me special and what makes me…me. However, I did not always have such a high positive attitude about my height.
When I think of middle school the words that come to mind are awkward, weird, and wanting to fit in and my experience was just that. During that time, many people’s bodies are maturing and developing, specifically in height, which I seemed to lack. Don’t get me wrong, I would grow and had no medical condition but I never grew quiet as much as the other girls in my grade.
I always knew I was shorter and was struggling to come to terms with my height but it was not until one day in 6th grade when a bunch of girls began to pick on me for my height.
“You’re so short, that’s definitely not normal”. “Have you seen how short you are, or can you not even look over a mirror”.
Those were some of the many comments that I would constantly get a day. Middle school was already hard and it did not make it easier for me that I felt that I did not fit in because of my height.
For months after I would come home crying, not understanding why I had to be so short. I would look up millions of different exercises to try an increase my height and even tried to find pills that could make me grow.
It was not until the summer going into freshman year that I decided this would be the perfect time to change my mindset. I decided to not listen to what people thought, stick up for myself when needed, and be proud of who I am and come the first day of my freshman year of high school I did just that.
I no longer let people bully me for my height and I really began to appreciate who I was. I began to realize short does have perks. I could date a guy of any height and still wear heels and always have tons of leg room. After I accepted my height I realized how many other people around me did too.
Through this experience, I not only learned in the importance of accepting myself and my height but the importance of accepting everyone around me as well. Everyone is different and unique and that is what makes the World such an interesting place. We should all learn to accept our differences rather than hide from them.