The difficulties of being vertically challanged....
By twilight021
@twilight021 (2059)
United States
July 12, 2007 12:39pm CST
I'm not a tall person...not at all. In fact I'm only about 5ft tall...and I don't where heels or platform shoes or anything like that, so yeah, I'm pretty short.
One thing I have realized is that the world is not a friendly place for us vertically challanged people. I often can't reach the things I want on the shelves at stores....supermarkets are notorious for this. It's kinda embarassing to have to ask someone to reach you the cereal you want.
Even in my office, the legal sized paper is on a shelf too high for me to reach it. I have to ask one of my officemates to get me some. He always does, but there is also a smirk there...laughing at how I can't reach it.
Usually, I don't mind my height. I hardly even notice it in fact...until things like that happen. What are you pet peeves about being short or vertially challanged?
2 people like this
7 responses
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
16 Jul 07
i know exactly what you mean. I've traveled on american airlines or northwest and when i asked a stewardess for help, she actually told me to get 'my friend' or another passenger to help! golly - i thought they were hired with minimum height to help passengers with overhead luggage!
for most part, when i am feeling independent, I'll grab the nearest chair and just get stuff myself. at a supermarket, there are always salespeople to help. at home, again it's just grabbing a chair or ladder. in a plane, sometimes i can't be bothered to wait for cabin crew, so I'll just remove my shoes and clamber on the seats to reach the overhead stuff, esp if it's very deep in.
the other thing i really don't like about being short is the stuffiness in crowded public transport. the air is horrible! wish i could 'rise above it' all. haha.
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
16 Jul 07
Oh! How rude of the flight attendants. You could really hurt yourself getting stuff in and out of the overhead bin. You would think they would be more concerned about that.
I agree...when there is a chair around I climb on it, but sadly there never seems to be step stools at the grocery store :-)
@mean_queen (1713)
• Malaysia
16 Jul 07
Gosh! That's SO not nice! I never knew stewardesses to be THAT rude! I'm glad I've never been treated like that by a stewardess.
@ozdanls (1)
• United States
22 Feb 08
Not mean - necessary. Flight attendants are contractually mandated NOT to assist, as if they're injured it can cause the delay or cancellation of the flight.
Also, I don't remember a height limit from when I was working for an airline and dating a 5'2" FA...
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jul 07
As a guy clocking in at *almost* 5'4" I share your pain, only doublely so because males are supposed to be taller.
That being said though, there are advantages to being shorter, for one thing we stay dry longer when it rains.
Without sounding too sexist, there are some nice advantageous to being a short guy... certain things tend to be at eye level shall we say...
Seariously though, I don't mind being short that often. I find that I'm usually far quicker, more nimble, and better balanced than my larger brethren. It does kind've suck in a crowd though, or anywhere that you have to see *over* people.
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jul 07
One thing that I left out that is by far the worst part of being short: buying clothes that fit. I either have to shop in the children's section, or get every pair pants I buy professionally altered to make them appear close to normal.
I really need to either shop for clothes in japan, or open my own store for short people which I would lovingly call, "Fashions from Lilliput."
@Akeela (2078)
• Trinidad And Tobago
12 Jul 07
dont worry sweets we're glad to help sometimes taller people have issues, like me I prayed to stop growing because all the boys were shorter than me (the ones I like though) because in the Caribbean the average man is 6feet and im 5'9 so you know,but we smirk cause we're glad to help and proberly how you asked could be your facial expression is funny.
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
12 Jul 07
True, I know tall people have their troubles too. Especially when you are outgrowing all the boys. On the good side though you are the perfect hight to be a model!
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
13 Jul 07
LOL well I don't think anyone is totally happy with the way they are. I'm 5ft 8ins with VERY long legs, so I tend to have the opposite probems to you. I always find it hard to buy clothes to fit me, because trousers and jeans are always too short in the leg, and if I wear high heels I tower over everyone! Guess we're never satisfied!
@scarywhitegirl (2766)
• United States
12 Jul 07
I'm 5'2", so I have some of the similar problems you do. I do tend to wear platform shoes or chunky heels a lot, but that only gives me an extra inch or two.
My biggest pet peeve is the height where they have the rail in the bus--the one you hang onto when you don't have a seat. On a lot of the buses, I have to stand next to a seat and hold the seat rest, rather than hold the rail that other people hold. A few buses have either loops or lowered portions of the rail for the vertically challenged among us, but those buses seem to be rare on my routes.
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
12 Jul 07
I absolutely agree!!! I can never reach the overhead bar on the bus or subway. I end up having to hold onto a chair or the one pole near the door on the subway. Thanks for the good point :-)
@archie20 (39)
• United States
13 Jul 07
Hey dont worry about not being tall. I myself am 5ft 6 in tall. You need to be confident about yourself.i myself cannot reach so many shelves in shopping centers. I do ask for help.Why dont u try using platform heels . start from maybe 1 inch heels and get used to it and go for more if you are confortable.I use till 5 inches. but i started with 1 inch heels. platforms are very comfortable .
@krebstar5 (1266)
• United States
13 Jul 07
One of my pet peeves about being short is crowds. When I'm stuck in a crowd, I can't see anything over people heads like some of the taller people can. Also, I'm so short that I get elbowed in the chest or even the eye sometimes depending on how tall the people are around me.
I get what you mean about not being able to reach things that are high up though. It can be embarassing to have to ask for help, especially when you are clothes shopping and the salespeople are anything but friendly or helpful.
The one nice thing about being this short is that I get to wear really high heels and don't have to worry about being taller than my boyfriend.
