Have you ever noticed that some people get away with everything? If you haven't you might want to pay attention next time you are around a vertically impaired individual, because it happens more often than you think.
I am living proof of that, because sometimes I get away with things that I really shouldn't, things such as sleeping on the front row every single day in my British Literature class, and still getting an A at the end of the semester twice. For some odd reason I was her favorite student, and I honestly didn't even try. At the end of the semester she gave me a world literature textbook for free, and those are not cheap textbooks. Then she told me what a wonderful student I was in her class. Honestly I read one maybe two of the stories from the book during the two semesters I took that class. I spark noted everything else, or waited for the recap in class, but I got away with it, and I honestly have no idea why.
It has to be the fact that I am short, because that's really the only thing I have going for me. I don't thrive on being "teacher's pet," and I definitely don't try to achieve that status in my schooling career, but it happens every year. Even when I mess up in a big way, people still decide to give me more chances than I deserve.
I worked in the food industry for four years and I have made more than my fair share of mistakes. I have dropped and shattered China plates, made a large quantity of product incorrectly and wasted all of it, because it couldn't be used, and at one of the food service jobs I got away with being late to my shift every Tuesday and Thursday, because I wanted to take another class that went later in the day.
I got away with taking two classes at the exact same time, and I got an A in one and a B in the other. I really don't know how it worked, and I am surprised that the college even let me do it. Everyone asks if I used a time turner to pull it off, but unless it's invisible and controls itself, I did no such thing. I wish I would have, because it would have been awesome. I will forever credit my being short and adorable. There's really no other reason why it should have worked, but it did, and that's just another bullet hole on the list of things I have gotten away with because I am little.
I work as the director of PSA's and Underwriting for Thunder 91, and that means basically all I do for my job is sell ads for the station. As I mentioned before I rarely dress nice when I go out and sell ads. In fact sometimes I wear T-shirts from other radio stations when I am out selling, but for some reason people keep buying ads from me. I have made just under $5,000 in either monetary donation, or product trade for the station. Most of my clients are a bit surprised when I tell them that I am only 20, and that I have been doing this for a couple of years now.
I have very little professional graces, and I am often found wearing graphic T-shirts and I have a thing for wearing hats, and it's usually a baseball cap worn backwards, and that is probably the furthest that I could be from actually dressing like a professional, but it works. I think that it works because I am approachable, and with my small stature in life, people are more willing to trust me. Clients have given me their cars to use because they fell bad for me when they see me riding my roommates bike all over town. That's a lot of trust, and the only reason that I can think of why it actually works, is because I am small and not intimidating.
I know I shouldn't have gotten away with all of that. It still amazes me that it actually worked. If I weren't short and cute, it never would have worked. My teachers would all have me on their worst student of all time list, and I would have actually been fired from a job by now. People wouldn't trust me with the information that they do, and I would have to walk everywhere, because people wouldn't be so willing to help me out. It's things like this that really make being short more of a blessing than a curse.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Once Upon a time in the life of a small person.
Being a vertically impaired person, I have learned that you can make an adventure out of everything
As I mentioned in an earlier post, short people often have to either alter their clothes themselves, or get them altered by somebody else, so your pants, or skirts won't be dragging on the ground everywhere you go.
I usually hem my own pants, but dresses are another story. Dresses are harder, because they often have really fine or sheer material and can have layers, whereas fabric for pants is typically thicker and they usually don't have layers. I got a dress for my choir dress, and as I imagined, it came a lot taller than I am, so I asked a friend if she would drive me to a clothing alteration place, so I could get my dress hemmed.
I know what you are thinking "Okay that's nice you got your dress hemmed, but what do I care." The story isn't about the dress, it's about the lady that runs the dress alteration shop, that we never would have met, if I was not a member of the short people society.
The lady currently runs an alteration place in Enoch, Utah, and if you have never heard of it, don't feel bad. You would probably never find it on a map unless you knew exactly where to look, because it's such a small place. She originally had her alteration shop in Pasadena, California, and that's where the fun comes in.
While she was measuring my dress, and pinning it, she told us about all of the celebrities that came into her store when she was in Pasadena. They weren't little names either, she had people like "The Duke" John Wayne along with his wife, and his son Patrick and his wife. Not only did they come to the store, but Patrick was there while she was cooking dinner, and said that it smelled really good, so she told them that they ate at 6:00 and it would be family style. Then they showed up and ate dinner with her family. She said it happened all the time.
She told us all about how she hemmed dresses for Mary Travers, and outfits for Van Halen. It was the craziest story that I have ever heard in my life. I don't know if she was serious, or if she was just a really good story teller, but I am glad I got to hear her story. It may not be an adventure that I was personally there for, but it was really cool to hear about.
People like to tell me stories, and I kind of like it when they do, because some people can tell the craziest stories that I have ever heard. I used to work at a little family drive-inn by my house, and for some odd reason all of the people that came through the drive through, had to tell me their life story.
This one guy has told me everything but his name. Seriously I have no idea what this guy's name is, but I do know he's diabetic, likes diet Dr. Pepper, was a boy scout leader in California, and has quintuplet grandchildren. He acts like he has known you for years when he comes in, and is really friendly, but I guess he's really protective of his name, because no one knows it. All we know is everything else about him and his life.
He's not the only one that likes to tell me stories either. This guy comes through the drive through all the time for a large strawberry shake. Every time you accept his money, he has another piece of his life story. I know that he likes to go riding with his ATV when he has spare time. He has one son, and his wife is sick a lot of the time, and that he is bound and determined to tell you a story no matter what.
Sometimes I like to go sit outside the front of the store on my break, and just enjoy the sunshine. Being on break does not deter this guy in the least. As soon as I went outside a very determined story teller was quick to follow, and tell me all about his life. Things like that happened at least once a week up until I quit that job to come to college.
Now that I am in school, it doesn't happen as frequently, but it has happened. Yesterday I was walking over to the COMM office to get more copies of my advertising flyer, and this guy told me all about his motorcycle crash over the weekend, and even showed me pictures of his wrecked bike. I have never met him before, and I didn't even get his name, but that didn't seem to bother him any to tell a complete stranger about his life. #StoryOfMyLife
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As I mentioned in an earlier post, short people often have to either alter their clothes themselves, or get them altered by somebody else, so your pants, or skirts won't be dragging on the ground everywhere you go.
I usually hem my own pants, but dresses are another story. Dresses are harder, because they often have really fine or sheer material and can have layers, whereas fabric for pants is typically thicker and they usually don't have layers. I got a dress for my choir dress, and as I imagined, it came a lot taller than I am, so I asked a friend if she would drive me to a clothing alteration place, so I could get my dress hemmed.
I know what you are thinking "Okay that's nice you got your dress hemmed, but what do I care." The story isn't about the dress, it's about the lady that runs the dress alteration shop, that we never would have met, if I was not a member of the short people society.
The lady currently runs an alteration place in Enoch, Utah, and if you have never heard of it, don't feel bad. You would probably never find it on a map unless you knew exactly where to look, because it's such a small place. She originally had her alteration shop in Pasadena, California, and that's where the fun comes in.
While she was measuring my dress, and pinning it, she told us about all of the celebrities that came into her store when she was in Pasadena. They weren't little names either, she had people like "The Duke" John Wayne along with his wife, and his son Patrick and his wife. Not only did they come to the store, but Patrick was there while she was cooking dinner, and said that it smelled really good, so she told them that they ate at 6:00 and it would be family style. Then they showed up and ate dinner with her family. She said it happened all the time.
She told us all about how she hemmed dresses for Mary Travers, and outfits for Van Halen. It was the craziest story that I have ever heard in my life. I don't know if she was serious, or if she was just a really good story teller, but I am glad I got to hear her story. It may not be an adventure that I was personally there for, but it was really cool to hear about.
People like to tell me stories, and I kind of like it when they do, because some people can tell the craziest stories that I have ever heard. I used to work at a little family drive-inn by my house, and for some odd reason all of the people that came through the drive through, had to tell me their life story.
This one guy has told me everything but his name. Seriously I have no idea what this guy's name is, but I do know he's diabetic, likes diet Dr. Pepper, was a boy scout leader in California, and has quintuplet grandchildren. He acts like he has known you for years when he comes in, and is really friendly, but I guess he's really protective of his name, because no one knows it. All we know is everything else about him and his life.
He's not the only one that likes to tell me stories either. This guy comes through the drive through all the time for a large strawberry shake. Every time you accept his money, he has another piece of his life story. I know that he likes to go riding with his ATV when he has spare time. He has one son, and his wife is sick a lot of the time, and that he is bound and determined to tell you a story no matter what.
Sometimes I like to go sit outside the front of the store on my break, and just enjoy the sunshine. Being on break does not deter this guy in the least. As soon as I went outside a very determined story teller was quick to follow, and tell me all about his life. Things like that happened at least once a week up until I quit that job to come to college.
Now that I am in school, it doesn't happen as frequently, but it has happened. Yesterday I was walking over to the COMM office to get more copies of my advertising flyer, and this guy told me all about his motorcycle crash over the weekend, and even showed me pictures of his wrecked bike. I have never met him before, and I didn't even get his name, but that didn't seem to bother him any to tell a complete stranger about his life. #StoryOfMyLife
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Sunday, October 12, 2014
Adventures In the Lives of the Small
Short people have big adventures. It's just a fact of life. When you are so small compared to everything around you, your world is a huge adventure, and I am glad that I am small, so every day of my life can be an adventure.
Recently I joined the Lions club through my university, and we do a service project once or twice a week, and this week we not only graded glasses, but we helped refurbish the Lions club pavilion in the park. Usually our service projects are held inside, and we do things like grade glasses, or prepare wooden toys to be sent around the world to children who need them, but the refurbishing was a bit different.
When I said yes to helping, I didn't realize that we would be working up on the roof of the pavilion. I found that information out when I arrived and one of the men working on the pavilion said to climb on up and pointed to the ladder. As I gripped the first rung of the ladder, the man asked me if I was good with heights, and the only thing I could really say to answer him was "Well, I guess we'll find out."
I won't say that being afraid of heights is a fear of every short person, but it is by far one of mine. I am okay when I am up there, but getting up and down terrifies me. I usually avoid high places if I can, but there was no avoiding it that day.
When I got up there, I wanted to get as far from the edge as possible, but it wasn't an overly huge roof, and there were 16 men up there working with me. That's right I was the only girl, and I was by far the smallest person up there.
I felt like I had to prove myself to all of these guys that were up there just casually working away, so I tried to do anything that I could to help. When we first started I mentioned that I didn't think I was actually big enough to be able to work on a roof, but I guess that didn't do much, because I was there to help, and that's what I planned to do.
Not only was I up high where I was already a bit terrified, but we were literally tearing off the shingles from underneath our feet. I let the men break up the shingles, because knowing myself, I would have tried too hard to move them, and thrown myself off the roof.
The more frequently I got up and down from the roof, the less scary it was, and I even found eight cents up there, and honestly that is way more than I would have made if I hadn't gone over to help with the project.
About halfway through the day, I kind of wished that I had my violin with me so I could literally be the Fiddler on the roof. Not that I am super great, but I honestly won't get an opportunity to do something like that again, and it would have been really cool to say that I was able to do that.
Throughout the day, the men that surrounded me were mentioning how impressed they were with my work ethic and my willingness go up on the roof. I felt super macho. I am not going to lie about that. What other girl can say that she spent all day up on a roof with 16 guys and basically proved her worth among them? It was super cool!
Later in the day they fed us all steak dinner, and all of the guys could point me out as that cute little college girl that came out to play with the big rough and tough guys on the project. Seriously the best feeling ever to know that I accomplished something this big.
I have heard people say many times, "Go big or go home." For me that day, it was definitely "Go big, then go home."
Recently I joined the Lions club through my university, and we do a service project once or twice a week, and this week we not only graded glasses, but we helped refurbish the Lions club pavilion in the park. Usually our service projects are held inside, and we do things like grade glasses, or prepare wooden toys to be sent around the world to children who need them, but the refurbishing was a bit different.
When I said yes to helping, I didn't realize that we would be working up on the roof of the pavilion. I found that information out when I arrived and one of the men working on the pavilion said to climb on up and pointed to the ladder. As I gripped the first rung of the ladder, the man asked me if I was good with heights, and the only thing I could really say to answer him was "Well, I guess we'll find out."
I won't say that being afraid of heights is a fear of every short person, but it is by far one of mine. I am okay when I am up there, but getting up and down terrifies me. I usually avoid high places if I can, but there was no avoiding it that day.
When I got up there, I wanted to get as far from the edge as possible, but it wasn't an overly huge roof, and there were 16 men up there working with me. That's right I was the only girl, and I was by far the smallest person up there.
I felt like I had to prove myself to all of these guys that were up there just casually working away, so I tried to do anything that I could to help. When we first started I mentioned that I didn't think I was actually big enough to be able to work on a roof, but I guess that didn't do much, because I was there to help, and that's what I planned to do.
Not only was I up high where I was already a bit terrified, but we were literally tearing off the shingles from underneath our feet. I let the men break up the shingles, because knowing myself, I would have tried too hard to move them, and thrown myself off the roof.
The more frequently I got up and down from the roof, the less scary it was, and I even found eight cents up there, and honestly that is way more than I would have made if I hadn't gone over to help with the project.
About halfway through the day, I kind of wished that I had my violin with me so I could literally be the Fiddler on the roof. Not that I am super great, but I honestly won't get an opportunity to do something like that again, and it would have been really cool to say that I was able to do that.
Throughout the day, the men that surrounded me were mentioning how impressed they were with my work ethic and my willingness go up on the roof. I felt super macho. I am not going to lie about that. What other girl can say that she spent all day up on a roof with 16 guys and basically proved her worth among them? It was super cool!
Later in the day they fed us all steak dinner, and all of the guys could point me out as that cute little college girl that came out to play with the big rough and tough guys on the project. Seriously the best feeling ever to know that I accomplished something this big.
I have heard people say many times, "Go big or go home." For me that day, it was definitely "Go big, then go home."
#ShortStories #LittleWin #Adventures
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Thursday, October 9, 2014
Jobs For The Short People
Finding a stable job is a major concern for everybody, but if you are short, there might be some jobs out there more specifically for you. Fast food is a place that works pretty well, but I and while I was there, I was informed about some places that might work for me, just because I am vertically impaired.
We were closing the store, and having a friendly conversation about what Disney characters we would be, or who we should be based on our looks and personality. Some ended up with princes, or princesses, and other typical answers like heroes or even a few bad guys, but since I am vertically impaired, I was immediately classified to be one of the seven dwarfs. I wasn't overly fond of the classification that I was given, but they had a point, when you are short, that's usually what you will get.
You can use it in your favor though. Sometimes when the people in the magical land of Hollywood make movies, they specifically want short people for a role. When they were casting the munchkins in The Wizard Of Oz, they were looking for any short person they could get, so they would have plenty of people to fill the roles.
Since you can fit in small spaces, because you aren't overly big, jobs where some tight spaces are necessary are a better fit. Sometimes exterminators need to get into small crevasses in homes and businesses, so that could be an option. That is as long as you don't mind the details of the job. You could also install insulation, or do heating and cooling work for homes and businesses.
You can basically be a ninja at work if you work in heating and cooling, because you will fit easier into the air vents. Tall people can crawl around them too, but I feel like the corners would be easier for someone who is a little more compact. That might be to your advantage if you have to carry a bulky tool box or wear a tool belt for repairs.
Just because you are small, doesn't mean that you can't do whatever career you want. Despite my friends suggestion of working at Disneyland being one of the Seven Dwarfs, I actually want to work at a radio station either as a D.J. or an advertising consultant. So far my height hasn't really hindered the possibility of either, so if you are vertically impaired and you are afraid it will decrease your job opportunity window, don't be. If you want to go after a specific dream, then go for it. The sky is the limit, and I have yet to hear of an employer that has specifically not hired somebody just because they were a little under the average height.
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We were closing the store, and having a friendly conversation about what Disney characters we would be, or who we should be based on our looks and personality. Some ended up with princes, or princesses, and other typical answers like heroes or even a few bad guys, but since I am vertically impaired, I was immediately classified to be one of the seven dwarfs. I wasn't overly fond of the classification that I was given, but they had a point, when you are short, that's usually what you will get.
You can use it in your favor though. Sometimes when the people in the magical land of Hollywood make movies, they specifically want short people for a role. When they were casting the munchkins in The Wizard Of Oz, they were looking for any short person they could get, so they would have plenty of people to fill the roles.
Since you can fit in small spaces, because you aren't overly big, jobs where some tight spaces are necessary are a better fit. Sometimes exterminators need to get into small crevasses in homes and businesses, so that could be an option. That is as long as you don't mind the details of the job. You could also install insulation, or do heating and cooling work for homes and businesses.
You can basically be a ninja at work if you work in heating and cooling, because you will fit easier into the air vents. Tall people can crawl around them too, but I feel like the corners would be easier for someone who is a little more compact. That might be to your advantage if you have to carry a bulky tool box or wear a tool belt for repairs.
Just because you are small, doesn't mean that you can't do whatever career you want. Despite my friends suggestion of working at Disneyland being one of the Seven Dwarfs, I actually want to work at a radio station either as a D.J. or an advertising consultant. So far my height hasn't really hindered the possibility of either, so if you are vertically impaired and you are afraid it will decrease your job opportunity window, don't be. If you want to go after a specific dream, then go for it. The sky is the limit, and I have yet to hear of an employer that has specifically not hired somebody just because they were a little under the average height.
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Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Protect the Little People.
Being short in life has plenty stigmas and stereotypes, and one of the more common stereotypes, at least from what I have observed, is that short people are like innocent children and need people to watch over them in a sense. People see a short person, and for some odd reason feel like they need to somehow help them out, because they naturally have a disadvantage in life.
People typically down grade their conversations around me, so they will be G-rated, but I went to public school, so it's not like I haven't heard it before. It's not that I want people to swear at me, but if that's the way a person speaks, then I don't see why they need to censor themselves around me, just because of my height. They apologize for swearing in front of me, and act as if they had just said the same thing in front of a small child.
It's not all bad, but sometimes it can feel like you aren't being treated as an adult, because of your short stature in life, and other times it's really nice to have people watching out for you. People usually feel bad for me when they know I have had to either walk or borrow my roommates bike, so they will offer to drive me around whenever I need a ride, but as nice as that is, I actually like taking care of myself, even if that means that I have to walk all over town to get things done. It's just the way that I am. I am willing to go the distance and do whatever it takes to accomplish what I set out to do.
It's not as bad as it sounds, because I have been doing it basically my whole life. I have never owned a car, and consider it a great privilege when my mother kindly allows me to use her car to drive places when I am home for the summer. I actually enjoy walking places, because it gives me time to be by myself and think, whereas if I were to drive, or be driven, it's not as inviting for open thought, because you are either concentrating on the road, or talking with the person driving you.
I am independent, and don't usually take commands very well, so when people try to take care of me, I feel like I have to sneak around to avoid their kindness. I really do appreciate it, but I almost feel like a burden to people when they want to help me out, because they aren't responsible for me, and I don't like people to have to do things when they really don't have to.
Honestly I am not afraid of walking outside at night. I am pretty scrappy despite my small stature. My friends celebrated my last fight for weeks, because the guy was twice my size and I wasn't afraid to fight him. I am not overly violent by any means, but he definitely had it coming. He was being a complete jerk to my friend, so I punched him square in the chest, and had enough force to move him back two feet. After that incident, he wouldn't even look me in the eye, because he was fully aware that I don't mess around.
Usually I don't use violence if people are bugging me personally, but if someone treats someone I care about badly, then I am not opposed to stepping in. I don't let myself get walked all over, but I usually don't beat up the people that have wronged me.
If you are a short person, and you feel a little overprotected by the way people act around you or treat you, let them know you are not a child, even though you are around the average height of some children. You don't have to be rude about it, but just remind them that you are the same age as them despite your short stature.
If you are a tall person, or at least an average height one, and you are afraid of being nice, because you might offend someone, don't be. It's not bad to be nice and offer a helping hand to someone, but make sure they have the opportunity to do things for themselves. All people like to feel like they are in control of their lives, and that they are able to do things for themselves, so whether you are short or tall, just make sure you give everyone the opportunity to think and act for themselves.
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People typically down grade their conversations around me, so they will be G-rated, but I went to public school, so it's not like I haven't heard it before. It's not that I want people to swear at me, but if that's the way a person speaks, then I don't see why they need to censor themselves around me, just because of my height. They apologize for swearing in front of me, and act as if they had just said the same thing in front of a small child.
It's not all bad, but sometimes it can feel like you aren't being treated as an adult, because of your short stature in life, and other times it's really nice to have people watching out for you. People usually feel bad for me when they know I have had to either walk or borrow my roommates bike, so they will offer to drive me around whenever I need a ride, but as nice as that is, I actually like taking care of myself, even if that means that I have to walk all over town to get things done. It's just the way that I am. I am willing to go the distance and do whatever it takes to accomplish what I set out to do.
It's not as bad as it sounds, because I have been doing it basically my whole life. I have never owned a car, and consider it a great privilege when my mother kindly allows me to use her car to drive places when I am home for the summer. I actually enjoy walking places, because it gives me time to be by myself and think, whereas if I were to drive, or be driven, it's not as inviting for open thought, because you are either concentrating on the road, or talking with the person driving you.
I am independent, and don't usually take commands very well, so when people try to take care of me, I feel like I have to sneak around to avoid their kindness. I really do appreciate it, but I almost feel like a burden to people when they want to help me out, because they aren't responsible for me, and I don't like people to have to do things when they really don't have to.
Honestly I am not afraid of walking outside at night. I am pretty scrappy despite my small stature. My friends celebrated my last fight for weeks, because the guy was twice my size and I wasn't afraid to fight him. I am not overly violent by any means, but he definitely had it coming. He was being a complete jerk to my friend, so I punched him square in the chest, and had enough force to move him back two feet. After that incident, he wouldn't even look me in the eye, because he was fully aware that I don't mess around.
Usually I don't use violence if people are bugging me personally, but if someone treats someone I care about badly, then I am not opposed to stepping in. I don't let myself get walked all over, but I usually don't beat up the people that have wronged me.
If you are a short person, and you feel a little overprotected by the way people act around you or treat you, let them know you are not a child, even though you are around the average height of some children. You don't have to be rude about it, but just remind them that you are the same age as them despite your short stature.
If you are a tall person, or at least an average height one, and you are afraid of being nice, because you might offend someone, don't be. It's not bad to be nice and offer a helping hand to someone, but make sure they have the opportunity to do things for themselves. All people like to feel like they are in control of their lives, and that they are able to do things for themselves, so whether you are short or tall, just make sure you give everyone the opportunity to think and act for themselves.
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