Can You find me?

Think back to your childhood and think of all the different games you played with your friends. Did you play tag, hide and seek, or even ghost in the graveyard? Do you ever wish you could go back to that time and play those games again? If you're vertically impaired you never really had to stop playing those games.

As soon as you reach average adult height, all of the fun childhood games become a bit harder to play. All of the hiding places that you used when you were little, are too small, and there aren't too many other places for people to hide, but if you're short, then that's not a problem. You will never grow out of your favorite hiding places, and you will forever dominate hide and seek.

The downside is that you may be hiding for awhile, so be prepared for that. Also if you are short enough and quiet enough, you can even move if you pay attention to where the seeker is going, you could potentially move to different hiding spot without anyone even noticing.

It's absolutely brilliant to do, because if you do it right, it can do wonders. Even if you aren't playing hide and seek, you can still sneak off without anyone noticing. I often surprise people with my presence, because they didn't hear me or see me come up.

The best reaction is when you suddenly disappear, and your friends freak out like a parent that just lost their small child at Disneyland. The situation is a little different since you are old enough that if you wander off, it won't be the end of the world, but being short, but the people you are with will still react as if it is.

You can have fun with this though. If you are up for it that is. Just find a place that is highly crowded and go to that place with your friends. If you are usually quiet around them, this will work even better, because they won't notice when you disappear. Make sure your phone is either off or on silent so when your friends try to call or text you, they can't find you by your ringtone. Find a place that is near by where you can hide and enjoy the show. Wait a few minutes for your friends to notice your absence.

They will begin to run all over the place calling your name and trying to find you before something bad happens to you. Don't torture them too long, or the inevitable lecture will be even longer, because they will have had more time to think about what to say. Just let them suffer long enough to get some good laughs, then come out from your hiding place, and face the classic "Do you know how much you just scared me?!" speech that will immediately ensue after you reveal yourself.

#ShortStories #CanYouFindMe
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The story of my life as a short person: Just out of reach

It's dinner time, and you want to get your pan down from the cupboard, but you were the last one to move in to the apartment, so you got stuck with the higher shelves. To get your pan down now takes tactic and extreme skill. Seriously it could almost be an Olympic sport for short people. You have to either find a chair, and stretch as far as possible and still barely reach, or creatively crawl up on the counter or even one of the shelves to reach it.

You will never outgrow Monkey in the middle, because the ball will always be out of reach. That is unless you play with short people, and even then they might be able to throw the ball high enough for you not to be able to reach it. It's just a fact of life, and even if you walk on stilts all day every day, there's no way to change the fact that everything is basically just out of reach.

It's not all bad though, getting things from lower places is no problem at all, because you aren't too high above them. You barely have to bend or crouch to get things, and that is a perk. Everything else in life brutally reminds you of your vertical impairment, and that's just the way it is.

You can either make it awful and fight it every single day, or you can just accept it, and make life an adventure by being short. I know you are probably wondering what kind of adventures you can have as a short person. I don't have an exact answer, but I do have a suggestion for it.

Since everything is literally out of reach, use your imagination to make everything that much more exciting. Imagine you are climbing Mount Everest every time you have to climb up on the counter and shelves to reach things. When you are in the pool, and the water is basically over your head at 5ft, make it an adventure by going deep sea diving. You may not find cool reefs or exotic fish, but it feels deep enough that it should count.

As long as you try and make an adventure out it, rather than a problem. Life is way more fun if it is an adventure and each person determines whether or not it will be that way, so go find your adventure, because when you're short, everything becomes more exciting, because the whole world is so much bigger for you.

#ShortStories

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/do-these-jeans-come-in-petite?
bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#2k8veta
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Can You Guess My Age?

You know that amusement park attraction where someone at a booth believes they can guess your weight just by looking at you? Well if there was one for guessing age, they would lose every single time they tried to guess a short person's age. I would know, because it happens to me every single day.


When I was in high school some of my friends would ask if I had ever gotten pulled over for not having a licensed  driver in the car, which I considered to be strange, because I had my drivers license, and I didn't need to drive with an adult anymore, so I asked them what they meant, and they told me that the figured I got pulled over a lot for that because I looked like I was 14.


My first two years in college, I worked for the school dining services, and people that I had classes with would come in and ask me what high school I went to. I was the shortest person on staff that wasn't elderly. Everyone else I worked with in the dining services was average height, and people recognized them as classmates, but most people assumed I was a high school student that was doing some sort of early college program.

I have noticed some short people like myself that I have had similar thoughts about in wondering how old they were. One of the girls in my choir class in college was 4 ft 11 in, and honestly she looked about 14 or 15 years old at the most.  If you are short and your face looks even remotely child like, then you will always be considered younger than you are.

Everyone I talk to says that I will be thankful for it when I am older, but for now I am not truly a fan of explaining my real age to everyone that I come in contact with. There are some perks to it though, for one thing you don't necessarily need to act your age, because almost everyone will assume that you are younger than you are.

One great perk if you ever want to work with children is that they will feel comfortable around you, because you aren't too much taller than they are. The kids in my neighborhood absolutely adore me, because I am their height, and they get really excited whenever they see me outside. Kids love it when there is an older person that is around their height that will play games like basketball, because you can dunk it, or make the shots that they can't make, because you have had a bit more experience.

If you enjoy acting younger than you really are, then being short is a major perk. You can basically be a teenager forever. You can race neighbor kids in the street, and no one even questions it, because they just assume that you are 15, and just being dumb. You can be professional and be short, for instance a teaching career is a good thing when you are short.

Short people make the cutest elementary school teachers. My mom is one of those, and she has the cutest friend that teaches that is about 4 ft 8 in, and she is absolutely darling! She teaches kindergarten and the kids really like her because she isn't a towering giant over them, which makes her more fun for the children, because they don't feel overly intimidated by her.

Being short is a great way to break the ice, because people will generally be a little more trusting towards you. Short people just seem more friendly and sociable, so people are more inclined to believe what they are saying. In my experience the short cute person gets a little further than the tall intimidating person in life.

I have done a little marketing while I have been in college, and generally I didn't have to do very much to get a client or make a sell. I just tell them what the offer is, and that's really it. Sometimes I don't even really dress nice. Honestly I have shown up in a Superman T-shirt, a pair of jeans with my hat on backwards, and because I am short and adorable it worked out well in my favor.

So if you are like me and no one can say how old you are without you telling them, then just go with it and have some fun with it, because after all people are always wishing that they were younger, and you have cracked the code. Granted it takes a little more work for people to take you seriously, but you can also use your youthful looks to your advantage.
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The Front Row Syndrome

Imagine you are in a movie theater and you find a nice spot in the back, and you think you have found the perfect spot up in the back, then all of a sudden a large dark shadow passes in front of you and decides to settle down in the seat directly in front of yours. No problem you can just move over one, but wait the large dark figure has some friends that take up all of the row, and you don't want to move all the way up to the front row of the theater, so you stay where you are, and try to see as much of the film as possible between the cracks between large shadows. After the movie ends, the crowd starts to leave, and all of a sudden you are stuck between people that for some odd reason resemble the rocky mountains. You want to be in the back, but you disappear  so in order not to disappear, you basically have to be front row center all the time, and that is known as the front row syndrome.

If you're short, then you probably have a pretty good understanding of what the front row syndrome is, and if you are not you probably can guess what it means. The front row is usually the last place people want to be, but if you are short and actually want to be seen or to be able to see, it is mandatory that you are almost always on the front row.

That being said it doubles as a gift and a curse. You will never have to worry about your parents not seeing you in a photo or in your concert, because you will be basically front row center every time, but if you aren't one for the spotlight, the front row syndrome can have a negative impact on your life. You can try to hide in the back, but the taller people in the back don't let you stay if it is a concert, and if it is a picture, and you try to stand in the back, you might as well not be in the picture, because if you are visible at all, it won't be clear who it actually is.

However in a classroom where you can basically sit wherever you want, you are more than welcome to claim the back corner, but sitting in the back corner for a vertically impaired person has a cost. In elementary school and usually in Junior high or middle school it's not too big of a problem, because most people are around the same height, but as soon as you hit high school that changes.

It seems like basically everyone gets a growth spurt the summer before 10th grade, that is everyone but the vertically impaired. The vertically impaired stay their short selves, while their friends have somehow managed to grow like trees. The height difference doesn't change your friendship, but you do have to pay a price if you want to sit in the back with your friends.

Since your friends magically grew like trees over the summer they can see everything that the teacher writes on the board, but you are trying to see what she writes in the spaces between all of the other people who are taller than you that chose to sit closer to the front.

You can make the front row syndrome a positive thing though. Just like being on the front row in the choir concert,or in the family photo, everyone will know you were there, so you will never have to worry about the teacher not seeing you and marking you absent. You will also seem really smart because you are on the front row of every class, and you will have the opportunity to understand more of the material, because you can actually see the board and what the teacher is writing on it.

Example for why short people need the front row.

#ShortStories #ShortGirlProbs #StruggleIsReal

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Let's Talk Clothes in the Land of the Short

Okay clothes are an essential part of our culture, but have you ever considered why it is like for the vertically impaired people of the world? It's not that the short people of the world have to buy special clothes or anything like that, but clothes do present a unique challenge to the short people of the world. Shirts and tops are not as big of a problem, but pants, skirts, and bottoms, are almost impossible to find that fit just right.

You can get the item to fit on your waist and hips, but generally you will end up having your pants or skirt cover your feet. I have found that some brands such as American Eagle have provided a sort of solution to the problem of pants being too long, but if you are like me, and high end retail doesn't stand a chance against a thrift shop, the solution is a nice dream, but most likely won't help in the fight against walking on your pants. Sometimes the pants not too bad in length, and you can roll up the excess until it's not covering your feet or your shoes, and be done with it, but if you are like me, and there is usually three to six inches of excess fabric, rolling does nothing.

If the pants are too much longer rolling it only lasts for a little while be for it comes undone, and  you are right back where you started. To insure that you won't be walking all over your pants, hemming is a crucial aspect. If you don't know how to hem and you are part of the society of the short, it might be a good idea for you to learn. It's not hard to do, you just need to know what you are doing.

It's possible to do it by sewing machine or by hand, but I much prefer the machine, because it is a much faster way to hem your pants. All you need to do is
 1. Measure the excess fabric you want removed.
 2. Fold the pants and use pins to keep it in place.
 3. You can either cut off the excess before or after sewing, but I prefer to do it after, so I don't have to watch the inside of the fold as closely.
 4. Sew in a straight line all the way around the fold in the bottoms of the pants.
 5. If you haven't cut off the excess do so, and that's pretty much all you need to do.

When you're short, you tend to find that your clothes are taller than you are.

You can also do it by folding down the excess to match the already existing hem and sewing it on top, but it's all up to you and what you are more comfortable doing.

That's what you can do with pants anyway, dresses are a completely different story. They are harder to hem, because they can have layers or special fabric that must be hemmed just right, or it will fray, and turn into a giant mess.

I don't attempt to hem my own dresses, because of the difficulty associated with it. If it were as simple as doing pants, I would never have to walk on any of my dresses, but unfortunately I am no master sewer, so I usually let the experts help me with that. I typically go with my mother or grandmother, because they are both fairly talented sewers, but now that I am in college it's a little harder to work with that, because I am so far away from them.

Most cities have some sort of dress shop or clothing altering establishment, and that would be my best advice for you to go to, in order to make sure that it is done right. You don't have to go to an expert, but you will most likely regret it, because if it is done wrong people can usually tell just by looking at the garment and can see if it is straight, or if it is crooked.

If you are short, just understand that hemming the bottoms of all of your pants, skirts and dresses is a must, or you will end up walking on the bottoms and ruining the clothes. I have done it plenty to know, that unfortunately the height does not shrink as much as you would like it to and still fit you.
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Dating in the Land of the Short

Okay dating is something that is basically relevant to everyone whether you are short or tall, but when you are short, some of the rules almost don't apply. Not that you can go all the way on the first date or any other social politeness rules, but the vertically impaired get to jump through some hoops that tall people have a hard time avoiding.

Typically people have a stereotype about dates, and the stereotype requires that guys be taller than the girls. Short girls never have a problem with that, because they are pretty much shorter than everybody else, so finding a guy that is taller is usually not a problem. The world is basically open to a short girl to find a taller guy to go on a date. Just as long as he is not too tall, because if you are spending the whole date with your head leaned basically as far back as it can go, it's probably not the ideal match, because your neck is going to start to hurt after awhile doing that.

Guys that are vertically impaired unfortunately have a very different story. Depending how much shorter they are than the average male of their age and race, determines the pool of girls they can choose from. Most likely they aren't too bad, and they can date a girl that is about average height, but she has to watch which shoes she wears, because if she wears shoes with a high heel, she could end up towering above him. There are a few that are shorter than the average girl, so if that is the case, just understand that if you want a girl that is shorter than you, you will most likely have success with a girl that is vertically impaired as well.

The best advice for the vertically impaired with dating is, be aware of your preference just like anyone else. If you like to have somebody taller than you, then go for it, but if you don't want somebody to tower over you, then set a height limit for yourself, so you don't end up in a situation that you aren't overly thrilled with. Dates are supposed to be fun for both parties, or at least that is the general goal, so if it is something that can't really be changed, and you aren't comfortable with it, then don't go through with it.

Short and tall people can work well together, it's just up to the people that are involved to determine where the relationship will go. My parents had a height discrepancy, but they overlooked it. My mother is only 4 ft 11 in, and my father is 6 ft tall, and they liked each other enough that the height really didn't matter all that much. If you are totally fine having your partner substantially taller or shorter than you, then it will most likely not be a huge problem in dating.

#ShortStories
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The Adorable Complex

Do you ever feel like you will never out grow the "adorable" stage of your life? That stage where your relatives and other adults often call you a "cute little thing?" If you answered yes, you might be facing the adorable complex in your life.

The vertically impaired often are wrangled in with the status of endless adorableness. It's not inherently a bad thing, but it can get old if it is over used and determines the way that people see you. For instance, co-workers and classmates might not take you quite as seriously because of the lack of height. When you are trying to be serious, and trying to get an important point across, it might not be taken as such because to some of the taller people that you may be talking to might compare you to the persuasive five year old trying to get the cookie before eating dinner.

I have definitely had that experience. I have worked in radio broadcasting for the past two years, and once when we were having a staff meeting, I was trying to tell my co-workers the importance of an issue that had developed at the station. Some were proud that I held my ground and stood for the cause, a few were absolutely terrified of me, and others thought I was absolutely adorable trying to get people to listen to me. That's the down side of being short and adorable, but there is a good side, and in some cases it can make up for the down side of things.

For one thing you don't have too try very hard to be cute, as long as you know what to say and what personality you have to work with. You can be short and sweet, and as long as you stick with acting that way around your friends, you are absolutely golden. People love the short sweet person, and basically always want them around, because they are so nice with pretty much everyone. People think they are fun and cute most of the time, and honestly make up isn't even required to accomplish this. As in most of American culture, it can help, but is not required.

You can also go the short and sassy route, and people will generally pick you out from the rest of the crowd. I don't promise that everyone will love you for it, but they will know your name for sure. You don't have to be overly sassy to make this work, but the more you are, the more ground you will stand on, and be less prone to the comparison of the five year old wanting the cookie before dinner. If you are sassy all the time that is. If you dabble in both you will almost always be compared to the five year old wanting the cookie because people have seen your sweet side, and don't understand the ground you stand on. The sassy approach takes a little more work, because you have to gain the ground to stand upon it, and in most cases you have to dress and act for the part.

If you are short and trying to figure out how to fit in, then think about the kind of person you are and where you want to go in life, and determine the method you want to go about. For instance if you are planning a career in a service industry or something where you don't necessarily need a ton of power, then I would go the sweet route, but if you plan to be the head executive of a large corporation, I would go sassy all the way.

#ShortStories #Adorable

The Society of The Short

Always disappearing into a crowd, and finding everything literally just out of reach? If you answered yes, you probably belong to the society of the short. It's not an organization where members of the society meet regularly and discuss an agenda to benefit a cause or to participate in a project, or even an event, but it is very real, and there are members all over the globe.

To qualify as short, or to be politically correct vertically impaired, a person just has to be slightly below the average height of people for their age group, gender and race. I qualify even though I am only two inches below the average height for my age group gender, and race, which happens to be 5 ft 4 in, making me 5 ft 2 in. It's an almost minimal difference, but in the grand scheme of things it makes a huge difference in defining a person.

If you are vertically impaired, then you understand the ever present struggle of short people in society. The endless string of short jokes, and the knowledge that you will most likely never make it big playing basketball for the NBA or any other professional basketball organization. In some cases shelves and cupboards are too high to reach just standing, so the vertically impaired individual needs to stand on a chair in order to reach the shelf.

Not everything is terrible in the lives of the vertically impaired, for instance tree branches aren't ever a concern. Some of the taller people in the world have to worry about low hanging branches, and as a short person the concern in minimal because short people can typically walk right under them with ease. Crowds are also easier to weave through, because short people can fit into tighter spaces, and move around taller people without running into them. That's one of my favorite parts, because after an event where a large crowd of people is trying to exit all at once, I can usually weave through the crowd and get out pretty fast.

It's all based on perspective. You can look at all of the negative aspects of being short, or you can try and find a way to make the best out of the situation, and find the sliver lining in being short. There's no way to change it, so you might as well just accept it and be okay with it. As my bowling teacher Bob Trythall said time and time again (I paraphrase a little because he frequently changed it depending on the situation , "You can be short and be all upset about it, or you can be short and happy about it. Either way you are short, so you might as well be happy about it." I agree with that, because life is what you make of it, and being short doesn't change that fact in the slightest, it just takes a different strategy.
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#ShortStories