February 28, 2007

Tall People Don't Look Down Upon Short People.

Trust me, I know. At 5 feet nothing, I've spent ages sitting on the front benches, standing at the head of almost every line in school and college - be it the morning assembly, or the PT class or school choir. I've heard everything from, "Hey Shorty", "Hi Thumbelina" to "She's vertically challenged" (followed by a guffaw). Or the sympathetically disguised, sugar coated insult "You would have been gorgeous if you'd been a little taller". What the heck does that mean, anyway!
Funny thing is, I was always expected to be unhappy about my height, or the lack thereof. The fact that I'm not bothered about it, bothers people.
Most of the comments I've heard, and mostly ignored, have come from people who top me by about two or three inches. The really,really tall ones? They never stooped so low.
There was this girl in my Xth std tuition class - Varsha. She must've easily been 5 feet 10 inches or so. We sometimes walked together to class. We probably made a funny picture, but, she never once said a word about my 'handicap'.
It just goes to show, that people who are secure within themselves are happy to be and let others be. It's the ones who lack something, that pick on others' weaknesses to make themselves feel tall. Pun intended!